Of Emerald Eyes
by jalapeno bagels
Summary: The third prophecy speaks of the Shikon Miko's return to this world. The well has closed, and Kagome is back in the modern era, where she is pulled into a new magical adventure. HP x Inuyasha crossover. Starts in 5th year.
1. Chapter 1

I hope you guys enjoy the story, and you can check on my profile page for updates about how far I am into the next chapter.

Oh, and I don't own anything, so please don't sue.

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The Great Hall was quiet during lunchtime. Rather eerily quiet, without the chatter of students, the shrill voices of teachers reprimanding students, and sloshing of pumpkin juice. Only the clinking of silverware could be heard as Albus Dumbledore sighed.

It was only the day after the Hogwarts Express had taken the students back for the summer, and already Albus was missing the hustle and bustle of the school in session. The house tables had been pushed together to the wall, awaiting the yearly polishing of wood by the house elves. A small, circular table seating about 10 was where the staff was taking their lunch. At the moment, only a couple of them were there – Sibyl, Minerva, Severus, Hagrid, and Filius.

Much of the staff had gone to visit family, or was off on trips, like Pomona, who was acquiring new flutterby bushes and puffapod seeds. Hogwarts seemed empty, calm, and relaxed. However, looks can be deceiving.

Even though it was the summer holiday, the headmaster still had much on his mind. Actually, this particular summer, he would have much more to do than normal. There was a tension in the air, between the staff, that even the lazy hot summer sun could not dissipate.

The Dark Lord had risen. He had been restored to his body. In a bizarre series of events, Cedric Diggory and Harry Potter had been transported by the Triwizard Cup straight to Voldemort's lair. Cedric was killed, and Harry's blood had been used in a twisted dark ritual which restored Voldemort to his body. No longer was Voldemort a spirit, a ghost of the past – now, substantial flesh and bone held his soul, which would enable him to start back up from when the war had ended little more than a decade ago. And, with Harry's blood flowing through his veins, Voldemort could hunt down Harry without fear of Lily's blood protection.

The Order of the Phoenix was having its first meeting in 15 years tomorrow. It brought back memories Albus did not care to delve into again. There had been so much sorrow and darkness that the Wizarding world had suffered through the first time around, and it was about to start all over again.

Albus sighed again, as he took a lemon custard tart. Suddenly, he longed for the summers which had only been occupied by fixing up the castle, conversing with friends and trying out new Muggle candies.

"Is something wrong, Albus?" said Minerva, pausing her conversation with Filius about the difference between jinxes and hexes.

"No, nothing, just merely wishing that I had one of those delightful Mars Bars. I must say, Muggles really have the best tasting sweets," replied Albus with a crinkled smile.

Minerva raised an eyebrow, but said nothing further.

Lunch continued quietly, with occasional murmurs of conversation. Suddenly, a loud clattering interrupted Filius in mid-sentence. Sibyll Trelawney slumped back into her seat, and then her entire body jerked forward. Her eyes were glazed over, and she looked towards the sky.

Shocked, the staff members stood and reached toward her, but Albus motioned for them to stop.

"Wait."

In a guttural, harsh tones, Sibyll Trelawney spoke.

"_THE SHIKON MIKO, RETURNED TO THIS WORLD AS THE DARK LORD WAS RESTORED… THE MAGIC SHE HOLDS WITHIN CAN PURIFY THE DARKNESS… AND WITHOUT TIME, THE SPIRIT'S TIES TO THIS WORLD WILL BE SEVERED AS SHE LIES WITHIN MORTAL PERIL, AS THE BETRAYER BREAKS THE WEAVER'S WEB. THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE LORD MUST SEEK THE POWER THE DARK LORD KNOWS NOT…HE AND THE DARK LORD SHALL DEAL EACH OTHER THE FINAL BLOW… SHIKON MIKO HAS RETURNED. BUT IF SHE IS TAINTED, THE DARKNESS WILL REIGN. "_

Sibyll slumped back into her chair. There was a shocked silence.

Severus looked alarmed. Hagrid looked concerned. Minerva's mouth was open in a small 'o'. Filius… Well, Filius Flitwick's expression was one of pure disbelief and astonishment.

"Was…was that..."

Albus sighed tiredly.

_Another prophecy? Really?_

"Yes, Minerva, that would be a true prophecy. Hagrid, would you help Sibyll up to the hospital wing? I think she's fainted. Filius and Minerva, would you two mind coming up to my office after lunch?" The two nodded mutely.

"And please, it would be of utmost importance that none of you mention this to anyone." Around the table, heads nodded as they gave their consent.

Albus rubbed his head. It looked like things were about to become a lot more complicated.

####

_Inuyasha ran through the forest, Kagome on his back. The wind blew Inuyasha's hair, and Kagome sneezed as it tickled her nose. Shippo clung to her shoulder. Kirara flew beside them, as Miroku and Sango sat atop of her. _

"_Monk," Sango growled, "Watch where your hands are." She dexterously maneuvered herself, and perching precariously on the fire cat demon, she took aim. Kagome rolled her eyes as the sound of palm meeting cheek rang out. _

"_When is that monk gonna learn," said Inuyasha, rolling his eyes. Kagome gave a small smile as she looked at the couple riding the fire cat. Miroku, with a palm imprinted upon his cheek, was apologizing to Sango. _

_They would make a great couple someday, she thought. It was obvious to everyone they were falling for each other – except maybe Sango. She could imagine it now – a cottage with an older demon slayer and a monk with graying hair, children running abound…_

_Oh, what I would give for that with Inuyasha, Kagome thought wistfully. As the thought of little children with puppy ears swirled in her mind, Kagome blushed. She buried her head in the billowing fire rat robe among streaming white hair. _

_Then, Inuyasha jumped, right off the cliff. They were flying… flying… and then falling… She heard Sango yell above them…_

"_Dammit!" The distance between the cliffs had been more than Inuyasha estimated. Kagome shut her eyes tight, and gripped Inuyasha's shoulders._

…_and the ground rushed up to meet them, Kagome braced for the impact…falling… falling…_

…_falling…_

"Ah!" Startled, Kagome sat straight up in her bed-her modern bed, with a mattress and cotton woven blankets and a goose down pillow. Her heart thumped wildly. It had been a dream. Just a dream. Inuyasha would never overestimate how far he could jump. Would he?

A pang of pain hit her at the thought of Inuyasha.

_But it was more than a dream,_ she thought fiercely. She had experienced moments like throughout the four years Kagome had traveled, laughed, cried, and lived with her best friends. She had known Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kirara, and most of all, Inuyasha.

_The dream had been based on real life. It had to be. _

_I'm not crazy._

Kagome sighed, and got up. It was a new summer day, and school had let out already. There were no evil demons to fight, no jewel shards to hunt for, and nothing to run from. She had days ahead of her, just for lazing around, hanging out with friends, and living with her family.

Her family. The one she had missed so much. In the frenzy of piecing together the jewel, saving villages and trying to defeat Naraku, Kagome had been home only three times in the last year of her travels. Each time she came back, she could see more and more gray in her mother's hair and a weakness in her grandpa's voice. Everytime, Souta had grown taller, and his voice had started to deepen a little more. There would be a stack of letters from her friends, telling her about what they were doing in college. Sometimes, there were questions. _Why don't you hang out with us anymore? Did we do something wrong? I thought we were best friends!_

It had broken her heart a little bit each time.

It got hard for her to hold back the tears at night at the thought of all she had missed in her family members' lives, as well as her friends'.

_But it's alright now. I'm the only one who remembers._

Kagome became lost in her memories as she stared into the mirror, where a 15-year-old Kagome stared back.

In the last year, the group of travelers had faced more and more dangerous situations. Terrifying incarnations of Naraku had come after them, along with fierce, horrible demons. Entire villages had been slaughtered as warning to them. However, the group held strong. Inuyasha grew stronger, and skilled with Tessaiga. Kagome became rather adept with her bow and arrows, and her powers had increased exponentially.

Miroku grew more cunning, planning out schemes and strategies that would have had politicians in the modern world green with envy.

Sango became more and more skilled with a variety of weapons. Her boomerang, Hiraikotsu, became imbued with demonic powers with the help of an old sage. Its power increased tenfold.

Shippo, although he was quite young, learned tricks and techniques that helped with Miroku's schemes. His shape-shifting had become almost indistinguishable from the original, even being able to disguise his tail completely. However, most of the time he still hid in Kagome's backpack.

As time went on, their group grew larger and larger. Kouga and his two friends had joined the group, practically guaranteeing Inuyasha a hundred sits each day from a furious Kagome. Ayame also tagged along, chasing after Kouga. Sesshomaru eventually joined too, bringing along Rin, Ah and Un, and Jaken.

Inuyasha's fury had been almost unbearable with both Kouga and Sesshomaru in nearby vicinity everyday, until Kikyo joined the group. Her arrival often caused Inuyasha to look bewildered and confused as to how he had ever had gotten into this situation.

In the beginning, it had been tense with so many different people, but as time went on, most of them gradually grew used to one another. Sango and Ayame were friendly with each other, Miroku seemed to understand Sesshomaru's silences, and Rin took to playing with Inuyasha's hair.

And in the end, after so many years, Naraku had been defeated. After a multitude of attacks from all sides, Naraku was finally defeated.

The entire earth had shook as a crack opened in the ground, and the flames of hell pulled Naraku in.

The group was stunned that they had finally accomplished their goal. Debris, blood and guts were everywhere, on everything and everyone. Tears flowed uncontrollably, of relief, of sadness, of all that had been lost.

In the aftermath, Kagome had offered the completed Shikon Jewel to Kikyo and Inuyasha. To her surprise, both had refused, saying that Kagome alone had the right to make the wish.

And in the end, before any more demons could come to try their luck at obtaining the jewel, on impulse, Kagome had held the Jewel to her chest, closed her eyes and wished. A warmth enveloped everyone in the battleground.

To everyone's wonder, Kagome glowed with a pink light, and then everything shifted. Kikyo flew back, a silvery orb flying out of her chest straight into Kagome's. Inuyasha caught the falling undead priestess, and then to his astonishment, a beam of light flew into Kikyo, and she started to breathe. Another beam of light headed straight for the dead body of Kohaku in Sango's arms.

And all at once, rapidly, orbs of light spun into the air, streaming to everyone in the clearing. The jewel dissipated into dust, which started to rush away in the wind, but was suddenly pulled back, landing on Kagome's skin. Kagome, with her eyes still closed and hair flying everywhere, started to lift off the ground and glowed a blinding white. Wind tore furiously across the clearing, as Kagome rose higher and higher, spinning towards the heavens.

And then she had disappeared.

####

_Oh, I wonder how many children Sango and Miroku had…_

Smiling at the thought, Kagome turned away from the mirror.

Kagome quickly changed out of her pajamas and into jeans and a t-shirt, stopping for a moment to look at her hip. There was a large, crescent shaped white scar there, from where the centipede had bitten the Shikon Jewel out of there.

Her numerous scars were the one of the only ways she knew that those four years in the feudal era had been real at all. Although her body was younger, the scars were still present for some reason.

Pulling her shirt back down, she bounded into the kitchen and started to make her breakfast. The house was silent except for the sizzling. Her mom was still sleeping, Grandpa was probably in the storage house of the shrine, and Souta was at summer camp.

Four months had passed since the day when Kagome had opened her eyes after she had made her wish and appeared back in her own time...

####

She was standing in the clearing and making her wish, when everything disappeared, and the only thing she knew was a white light engulfing her, before drifting into unconsciousness.

Kagome woke up in the dark, against a dirt floor. For several minutes, she couldn't remember who she was, why she felt dirt in her hands, and what had happened. Her head felt dizzy when she tried to lift it, but she crawled until she felt a stone wall. By the time she managed to stand up, she remembered her name and that she was in an old well inside the shrine. _Why am I in the old well? I have to get to school! I'm going to be late!_

Only after had she climbed out of it did the memories of the past come flowing back. It hit her like a ton of bricks. She gasped as she realized what had happened.

_Inuyasha! Miroku and Sango! Shippo!_

Then, foolishly in desperation, she had jumped back into the well and sprained her ankle. She ran her hands desperately over the ground, looking for the magic that had taken her on so many adventures. Nothing. Tears sprung to her eyes, not because of the stinging pain of her ankle, but because she realized that the well was closed, for good. Silent tears leaked down her cheeks. Soon, Kagome was sobbing.

_They will be happy now. So don't be so selfish, Kagome! Everyone will be happy!_ Kagome bit her lip, desperately trying to wipe her eyes off. She had known this would probably occur, and had prepared herself. So why did it hurt so much now?

_But what about me? Don't I get to be happy? I'll never see Inuyasha again. And even though he didn't love me, I love him so much – why wasn't it enough? Why wasn't I enough? I would've done anything— _and Kagome viciously pulled away from that thought as she felt the beginnings of the old aching pain in her chest.

_This is worth it_, she repeated to herself, over and over, throughout the tears streaming down her face. Eventually, the sobs subsided since there were no tears to cry.

She painfully hobbled up the ladder, grimacing as her ankle bit and stung. It took what seemed like days, and there were minutes where she just wanted to cry out in pain and give up. Kagome limped into her house and broke down when she saw her mother. Kagome was tired, and she knew she had just left all her friends behind in another time, for forever. Her mother had been bewildered, but stroked Kagome's hair as she rambled about how it all ended.

Then, hesitantly, when the broken dry sobs had ceased, her mother slowly asked, "Honey, I'm sorry, but who is this Inuyasha?"

Stunned, Kagome looked up, and this time, really saw her mom. And then, she stepped back, realizing something was wrong. Her mom's face; it was without the creases and wrinkles that had built up over the years, and her hair was free of the strands of gray. And then, Kagome looked down at herself. Her t-shirt and jeans had been covered in blood and guts, but now she was wearing her school uniform.

Kagome had stopped wearing her school uniform a year and a half ago, after it had been damaged beyond repair.

She ran to the bathroom, ignoring her mom's perplexed questions and the protest from her ankle.

Kagome's eyes were wide as she took in her appearance. She ran her hands through her hair that was missing the extra five inches that she had grown over the years. The bangs she had outgrown a year and a half ago. The multitudes of calluses were missing from her hand, and silvery white scars had replaced the angry red-pink ones that had marred her body. Her face was softer, more plump.

But that was impossible! She almost looked like... _she was fifteen again._

"Kagome, what's wrong?" her mother's soft worried voice asked.

"What's the date?" Kagome asked, staring into the mirror, frozen with disbelief.

"Why, it's your birthday."

"And the year?" At this, her mother grew even more bewildered, but answered. And at that, Kagome sank numbly to her knees.

She had landed straight back on the day she had fallen into the well. And it seemed like those five years she had spent in the Feudal Era had never occurred at all.

Her family believed her, yes, but only after her bewildered Grandpa had dug out an old book of Japanese legends that detailed the nearly same story she told, along with, to his shock, naming the Shikon Miko as a mysterious girl by the name of Kagome. He and her mother were stunned, as the book had never contained the name in the many years that her grandpa had poured over it.

That was the only evidence of it all happening, along with her silvery-white battle scars. It was mind-blowing.

_As if it all had never happened. As if it was just a long dream._

####

All in all, her life wasn't really different from before she had fallen into the well. The first month had been hard—no, scratch that, it was _still_ hard for her. Her friends were concerned with her new silence and depression. Kagome threw herself into school work, in an effort to push away the pain. She had finished her school year out with top marks, something Kagome had relished, since she had to give up school when she was travel in the Feudal Era.

Taking care of the shrine, hanging out with friends, doing homework, just like any other ordinary girl. She felt as if she had lost something. Her sense of purpose was gone. Her lifelong friends, with whom she had forged bonds through tears, pain, and happiness, had been ripped away from her.

_Putting together the Jewel and defeating Naraku consumed my life for five years. What do I do now?_

However, it had become apparent to her, that even though the well had closed, she was still anything other than ordinary. Kagome still had her powers, and she had discovered through a random whim to practice archery that the same pink light would engulf the arrow. In fact, sometimes it seemed like her arrows flew straighter than before, and that the pink light had become more intense.

As odd as it sounded, Kagome thought that her powers had increased in the modern era.

_That can't be right. __Why would my powers become stronger now? There's no magic in this era. No demons. Nothing to fight against._

But there were other instances, things she had never been able to do before.

One night, she had discovered she could make little pink glowing orbs. They looked like larger, glowing shikon jewels, and floated in the air. She discovered that they were easiest to create after she had practiced her archery. Kagome had been mystified the first time she felt something warm leave her hand, and had looked up to see a floating ball of light. Eventually, giggling like a little girl, she had filled much of her room with the little lights. Kagome didn't know why she didn't tell anyone about it.

Perhaps, she was afraid that if she did, she wouldn't be able to do it anymore.

It was just her little secret, her little piece of magic from an era long gone.

Soon, another strange event occurred. She had been trying to lift a heavy box in one of the storerooms. Grandpa had asked her to help organize the shrine, and unfortunately, the job had included much lifting. Much of the muscle she had developed in the Feudal Era from fighting and running had disappeared. Unable to get the box onto the shelf above her head, she angrily dropped the box, and kicked it, childishly telling it to go get up there itself.

And then, the box slowly floated into the air, and plopped onto the shelf. Dumbfounded, she looked at all the boxes around her, and told them all to go onto their shelves, but nothing happened. _Okay, well maybe I need to kick it them all first._

She tried that, and nothing happened again, except one of the 'dried tentacles of the Kraken' had snapped in half. She threw the thing in the corner, frustrated.

_Maybe I need to be angry. _She poured her concentration onto staring at one of the boxes, angrily willing it to get on the shelf and stomping in anger.

And as if by magic, each box hovered to just where it was suppose to go.

####

While eating breakfast, Kagome debated on her theories of what happened to the boxes yesterday.

Perhaps this was some sort of extension of her miko ability. Except she had never heard of mikos levitating things. Kaede and Miroku had never mentioned that mikos possessed any abilities beyond the usual incantations, purifying power, and healing ability. Perhaps it just wasn't well known. Well, whatever it was, it was useful. Kagome had spent the rest of her mornings trying to make her breakfast cook itself. It had worked pretty well until she mistimed closing the refrigerator door while levitating a carton of eggs. There had been a gooey yellow puddle all over the refrigerator.

It had taken forever to clean up, so today, she herself was cooking breakfast. The sound of footsteps came down from the stairs, and her mom came down.

"Morning Kagome! Ooh, you made breakfast," she sniffed appreciatively.

"Yeah, sit down and have some," said Kagome.

A tapping sound came from the window as Kagome poured coffee out.

"Kagome dear, I think that's an owl!" said her mom, surprised, "There's an envelope attached to its leg!"

_Well, this is new,_ Kagome thought as she stared at the bird. She had never really seen a real owl before. It was very large, with brown and gold in its feathers, and a pure white heart-shaped face. It seemed to be waiting impatiently. There was an envelope attached to the bird.

Kagome unlatched the window curiously, and the bird hopped in, looking expectantly at Kagome.

"I don't think these live in Japan, Kagome! Look, I think it wants you to take the envelope!" The owl was sticking its leg out at Kagome, looking expectantly at the girl.

Hesitantly, wondering if this was some sort of joke, Kagome untied the letter, and to her surprise, it was addressed to her. There was no return address, just a red wax seal and an emblem with the word 'Hogwarts' on it.


	2. Chapter 2

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Hesitantly, wondering if this was some sort of joke, Kagome untied the letter, and to her surprise, it was addressed to her. There was no return address, just a red wax seal and an emblem with Hogwarts on it.

"Hmm. It's in English. _Hahg-worts_," said Kagome. This was getting more interesting by the second. An owl, an old fashioned wax seal, and something in English?

Kagome carefully ripped the envelope open, and out took a couple pieces of parchment, unfolding it. Her mom leaned over her, wondering what it would say.

The letter was handwritten, but all in English. Kagome frowned. She had been taking English classes in high school, but she wasn't quite proficient at it yet…

"Let's see. _Hahg-worts school of wit-cha karaf_… I think this is a letter from a school. I don't know what the first word means… Although I think _warts_ is some kind of disease..."

_Perhaps a medical school advertisement? Although, how in the world they got a bird to deliver it is beyond me._

Kagome leaned in to try and decipher the writing, when suddenly, the piece of parchment she had been holding floated away from her hands, suspended in space in front of her. Her mom shrieked a little, as the papers flashed a white light, and then drifted onto the floor.

"What was that?" her mom said, wide-eyed. Her mom carefully poked the pieces of paper with a chopstick, as if it was a deadly animal. Kagome snorted at the image that popped into her head.

_Well, that would be great. I can imagine the headline now – After Five Years of Battling Vicious Demons, Shikon Miko is Killed By Piece of Paper._

When the paper didn't do anything else – Of_ course, I mean, it's a piece of paper… _– Kagome poked it with her toe, – _Well, can't be too safe. It did just float. _– and then picked it up.

"Mom! The letters are in Japanese now!" Kagome's mouth hung open a little. This had to be some sort of magic. Papers didn't just randomly translate themselves!

_And if they did, my English homework wouldn't take hours._

Kagome read the first piece of paper, her mom looking over her shoulder.

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL  
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY_

_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore  
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,  
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

_Dear Ms. Higurashi,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31._

_Yours Sincerely._

_Minerva McGonagall,  
Deputy Headmistress_

There was another letter addressed to her on a separate piece of parchment.

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL  
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY_

_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore  
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,  
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

_Dear Ms. Higurashi,_

_Hogwarts is a magical school in Great Britain that trains young witches and wizards to use their magic. For some reason, your magic has been recognized rather late. If you are to accept, you will be transferring in later than most students._

_However, there are special circumstances that surround your case. I would like to meet you in person, Ms. Higurashi, and explain them, as well as to answer any questions you have._

_Please send your reply by the owl. If you accept, I will arrive at your home tonight at 7, Japanese time. _

_Yours Sincerely._

_Albus Dumbledore,  
Headmaster_

There was also a list of equipment and books, along with another sheet which specified books that had been used in 1st – 4th year, in case she wanted to study up.

_Witchcraft and Wizardry? Cauldrons? This could be a joke. A very elaborately planned joke. _

_Let's see. Souta's away at camp, he couldn't do this. Hojo wouldn't play pranks on me. He's too wimp-I mean nice- for that. Yuki, Eri, and Ayumi… I can't imagine one of them doing this kind of thing. _

_I don't know anyone who speaks English fluently enough to write letters like this either._

_So, I guess this could be real. Well, a magical school. I've seen stranger things._

"I think magic's real, mom," Kagome said quietly. A couple moments passed as the two took in that statement.

"Yes, I do believe so," her mother replied. It wasn't all that hard to believe actually. They lived in a shrine, for heaven's sake. And what else was the explanation for Kagome's adventure? What else could explain the pure light that enveloped Kagome's arrows as she practiced archery?

The letter, however, was more surprising. _There's a school for this kind of stuff? There were others who could use magic? Where you wear witch hats and robes and wave around wands?_

Kagome giggled. Maybe they rode around on broomsticks and looked into crystal balls too!

"Do you think you want to go?" her mother asked Kagome.

Kagome's mother had been initially shocked when the paper started to float, and when she saw the words _Witchcraft and Wizardry_. However, it was a small surprise compared to when she had found out that her daughter was a legendary priestess a few months ago.

If Kagome could travel through time and defeat demons, than she surely could have magical powers. Honestly, the magic thing was more believable than the Kagome's journey! Kagome was already her mother's childhood hero, the girl in her beloved fairytale who purified monsters and saved lives.

_She's clearly destined for great things…_

"I'm not sure. I think I'll wait for the headmaster to come and explain all this to me. But, wait – you'll let me go? To school? In Great Britian? It's so far away "

"Yes, it's really up you. You're a very responsible girl, and I'm sure you want to learn about magic, right? It'll be good for you to do something different and get away from the shrine a little bit." Kagome's mother was well aware of Kagome's lingering depression and knew that this might be just the thing to make Kagome's smile not so sad anymore. She also knew that Kagome sometimes spent nights out sitting in front of the well, staring.

"Okay," Kagome said, excited.

"Well, you better feed that owl. I think it's pecking away at your breakfast."

###################################

After Kagome had scrawled a reply "Yes" on a sheet of paper and sent it off with the owl, she impatiently waited for seven o' clock.

This magic stuff, a school – it was all horribly fascinating to her so far, and she wanted to know more. The endless possibilities of _magic. _

Questions about her acceptance rose in her mind, and she resolved to find out as much as possible about this magic school.

Finally, Kagome grew tired of wondering and to distract herself, she set off to sweep the shrine and polish the statues and carvings. Grandpa was extremely pleased as he commended her on being an 'industrious youngling'.

Numerous shiny statues and hours later, Kagome walked around the shrine. There were still 10 minutes before the headmaster of the magic school was supposed to arrive.

The letters had piqued her interest, but the list of books and equipment, even more so. It was like straight out of a kid's fantasy novel. It had been an intriguing day so far, and Kagome was more excited since… well, since she had turned 15 once more.

_Mom was right… Maybe it is better for me to get away from here._

She sighed. It was hard to talk with her modern-day friends sometimes. They were obsessed with boys, kept pushing her toward Hojo, and all their conversations were a little lacking in substance. It was just… awkward sometimes, when Kagome realized she no longer fitted in with them. They would turn to her expectantly, but she had no tidbit of gossip or a new crush to swoon over.

In all honesty, however, it wasn't really their fault. She had changed, and they were just as they had always been.

They were perplexed by the new Kagome, who had, for them, literally changed overnight. One day, it was cheerful, talkative Kagome who drooled over dreamy boys and complained about her family.

Then, she had fallen into the old well and climbed out, seconds later in this re-winded modern world, but five years later in her mind. Oh sure, she was still somewhat cheerful and talkative, but now there were years of her life who had made her essentially who she was, that her modern day friends would never know about. Her friends wondered why she threw herself into school, and when did she mature so much. They wondered why Kagome's smile was so sad sometimes, and why she seemed so far away sometimes.

Kagome missed her best friends terribly. Often, her mind would drift off when she encountered something that reminded her of the past. She desperately wanted to know what had happened to each of them, hoping that they got their happy endings.

_I just want to know what happened to them. How many children did Miroku and Sango have? What happened to little Rin? How did Shippo grow up?_

A sharp cracking sound interrupted Kagome's train of thoughts, and she instantly became alert. It had come from around the corner of the house.

She took a quick glance, and it was… a thinner, taller version of Santa Claus. Wearing a pointy black hat instead of a red one. At the moment, skinny tall Santa Claus was looking at the shrine curiously from under his spectacles.

Whoever this man was, he looked extremely out of place, with his purple_-wait, is that a dress? –_ and long twirly beard.

_Perhaps this is the headmaster? Well… those Europeans do have rather unusual fashion trends. _

Kagome stepped out of the shadows and into plain sight of the man.

"Err… Hello? Can I help you with something?" The old man turned around, looking at her, smiling with crinkled eyes. He murmured and took out a stick, giving it a swish as he said something. A faint blue glow came from the stick, and then quickly vanished. The old man looked at her and smiled.

"Hello, you must be Kagome Higurashi." Kagome blinked rapidly. She was hearing two voices as he spoke! A trace of his voice was in English, and then more loudly overlaid with Japanese, with a strange accent.

"Ah, yes, that would be the language translation spell," he said, chuckling, "It is a little bothersome, and will never be quite as good as learning the language, I'm afraid. However, it must do for now, as I've yet to learn Japanese."

"My name is Albus Dumbledore, and I am the headmaster of Hogwarts. I have much to explain and discuss with you; perhaps we should step inside your lovely home?" He gestured toward the house.

"Yes yes, sorry about that, I'm just a little surprised," Kagome said to the headmaster, walking up to the house.

Kagome closed the door behind the headmaster and lead him into the living room. Her mother looked up from the book she was reading, eyes widening as she took in the old man's eccentric appearance.

"This is the headmaster of Hogwarts, Mom." Her mom quickly stood up and greeted the headmaster. He took out his stick again, muttered the same word, and the blue light came and went. Kagome watched carefully through the process, while her mom looked confused. Understanding flickered into her eyes as the headmaster began to introduce himself. All three of them sat down.

"As far as I'm aware, your family is not a wizarding one. Do you both believe in magic?"

"Yes, we do live at a shrine and I have always believed some sort of magic existed." Kagome's mother replied.

"Excellent!" The headmaster said, "That will make my job easier."

"As the letters said, Hogwarts is a school for young witches and wizards. Our school is located in Scotland. The students go through seven years of schooling, graduating at age 17. Kagome, you would be transferring in as a fifth year."

"I don't know anything about magic though, why wouldn't I start as a first year?" Kagome said, confusion evident on her face.

"Well, Hogwarts' term does not start until September 1st. You could catch up by studying with a teacher over the summer. The professors could give you extra lessons over the school year also."

"And of course, I believe you have used your magic before?" said Dumbledore, eyes twinkling. Kagome's brain grasped at the implications. Did he know..?

_Past of this present or 500 years ago?_

"Forgive me if I'm mistaken, but I believe you have had some rather interesting adventures in the past?" She gasped, and her mother stared at Dumbledore.

"Y-you… How?"

"I am aware of the Japanese legends, and one can feel the old magic surrounding this place, and coupled with your name... well, am I right?" Kagome nodded.

_There's a whole lot of leaps to that conclusion though. Though, maybe wizards would know things that regular people wouldn't know._

"I believe that you will learn much before term starts. Of course, you must travel to Britain then, for the summer. Could you leave in two days? The earlier, the better, as there is much to cover. Five years of schooling is an awful lot."

Kagome looked at her mother, who said, nodding, "It's your choice Kagome."

"Alright. I have a question though. Aren't there Japanese magic schools? Why is an English school accepting me?"

Dumbledore blinked. He hadn't anticipated that question. Most children would be too awed by the fact that magic was real to be able to catch these things. This girl was certainly a fast one…

"I am not quite sure why other magic schools have not contacted you. Perhaps it is because it appears that your magic has appeared at a rather late age. However, your name appeared on the Hogwarts roster, and any student whose name appears on it must be informed about the opportunity to attend Hogwarts." There. That answer was certainly true. However, there was more to it-the prophecy-but she didn't know that… Kagome nodded, accepting the reply.

"If you could, a demonstration of your magic skills would help in placing your level of magic and what you would need to learn."

"Okay," Kagome said, thinking for a minute.

"Mom, why don't you take the Headmaster out by the woods. I have to grab something from my room."

_Why do we have to move outside?_ Dumbledore wondered as he followed Kagome's mother outside. _Perhaps her magic is a little unstable, since she does not have a wand. Although, it also could be a different type of magic from the feudal era. Sibyll did say "ancient magic" in the prophecy._

For the first time in a long time, Albus Dumbledore did not know what to expect. Sure, Voldemort obtaining a body had taken him by surprise, but was hardly unexpected, when he knew Sibyll's prophecy. And the war ahead- he knew what to expect- terror, sorrow, and death. This girl, however, was something entirely unexpected.

Sibyll's prophecy had introduced a new player in this battlefield-an old legend appearing in the present. And, this new, unknown player, according to the prophecy, would be an integral part in defeating Voldemort. The Shikon Miko, a girl named Kagome Higurashi.

Truth to be told, Dumbledore had not been very familiar with the girl's tale. He had asked Minerva and Filius about it, and while Minerva had not heard of it, Filius certainly had.

The teacher, with a high squeaky voice piqued by excitement, told them that the Shikon Miko was a woman who had traveled with several companions, some of whom which were demons. She had been the keeper of an extremely powerful jewel, and along with her companions, defeated an evil demon.

Unfortunately, that was all Filius knew of her. He pointed Albus in the direction of Professor Binns, the History of Magic ghost. And, although Albus had searched for Binns, it had turned out he was gone, to wherever ghosts went in their free time.

Kagome certainly hadn't been what Albus had expected. A petite girl, only 15. She had helped defeat an evil demon?

Kagome walked out of the house, and she was holding a bow and quiver full of arrows. She stopped several meters away from a tree, and motioned for her mother and the headmaster to walk over. It was getting dark outside, and a sliver moon was visible.

"I'll be using this to demonstrate."

She held up her bow, and took out an arrow, notched it, and aimed for the tree. Breathing in deeply, Kagome closed her eyes and let the arrow fly, as her power surged through her.

As the arrow flew, it shimmered pink and glowed more and more strongly as it whistled toward the target. With a resounding crack, it hit the tree dead center, the entire tree inflamed with power.

"How was that?" Kagome said, turning toward her mother and the headmaster. Both stared at the tree, and slowly turned toward her. And then, the headmaster's jaw dropped. She found Dumbledore staring at her, rigid. Both her mother and the headmaster were silent.

_The sheer power… Conducted with only an ordinary bow and arrow._

"What? Did I do something wrong?"

"K-Kagome… Look at yourself," said her mother quietly.

Glancing down at herself, Kagome found herself glowing in the twilight. She realized that she was looking through large halos of pulsing pink spiraling around her body, forming a perfect sphere encasing her.

"Well. This is new," she said to herself, looking at her glowing hands. She didn't remember this part from when she fired arrows in the feudal era.

She willed the aura to go away, and it slowly dissipated. After a little bit, the tree she hit had also stopped glowing pink.

"Kagome," said Dumbledore slowly, "I think you will have no trouble catching up. You will do very well at Hogwarts."

Kagome smiled. She was looking forward to going to Hogwarts all of a sudden. The familiar feeling of the power surging throughout her body had reassured her.

Suddenly, a rustling came through the trees, as if something or someone was running.

"Someone is approaching," said Dumbledore quietly, with his wand in his hand before either of them could blink.

Kagome nodded, taking out an arrow. Her demonstration had attracted someone-or something.

Without warning, a young man ran out of the woods in front of them. He was wearing a dark suit, almost blending into the night. Strangely, he was barefoot. Long black hair was tied back into a ponytail. His eyes immediately zoomed in at the wand pointed at him.

"Who are you? What do you want?" said Dumbledore, quietly. The young man looked at him, slightly confused.

_Ah. We're in Japan. He won't understand English._ Dumbledore started to cast the spell, when he was interrupted by the man's voice.

"I thought I saw something," said the young man in perfect English. He even had a British accent. He looked curiously at the old man.

It did not go unnoticed to either Dumbledore or Kagome that he had evaded the first question.

"Are you Albus Dumbledore?" he asked.

"Yes, I am. I'm afraid I don't know who you are. I assume you are a wizard then?" said Dumbledore.

"Well, yes, kind of. But what are you doing outside of Europe? In this shrine?"

"I am on Hogwarts business."

"Well, a student then?" the long-haired man, for the first time, looked closely at Kagome. And then, he stiffened, and paled as he took in her appearance. He stared at her. The intensity in his eyes caused Kagome to step back.

"Kagome?" he whispered hoarsely. He looked stunned.

"Do I know you?" she asked, curiously, looking at him. Kagome was pretty sure she had never seen this man before-she would've remembered a man with such long hair. Although, his face did seem a little familiar.

"By gods, Kagome, you were thirty years off," he said, still staring into her eyes.

_Wait, what?_ Confusion flooded her mind.

The young man suddenly enveloped her in a hug. She recoiled as this stranger hugged her, but then something clicked.

Her mother and Dumbledore were alarmed, and as Dumbledore started to step toward them, he heard Kagome say something, her voice unnaturally high pitched.

"Shippo?" The man released her from the embrace, and took a couple steps back, never taking his eyes off her.

Then, a blue fire quickly rose up around him. Dumbledore and Kagome's mother blinked in the bright light, and when they opened their eyes, the fire was gone. The young man was still there, but now he could hardly be called a man.

His hair was an orange color, his eyes, glowing green. His feet were now large, strong paws. And, the feature which most defined him as decidedly _not human_ were the five tails behind him.

"Shippo!" Kagome cried out, stunned. She sank to her knees.

"You're here. You're alive. You're all grown up." The words came out in a rush.

"Kagome, I have so much to tell you! I can't believe it-you're here in front of me," Shippo said, hugging her again. This time, she warmly accepted the hug, holding him tight, as she burst into tears.


	3. Chapter 3

**###**

_Well, that was unexpected. _Albus Dumbledore looked with surprise, if his suspicions were right (and they usually were), a fox demon.

Demons were very rare, and rather reclusive. Many wizards and witches thought they were extinct. Dumbledore, old as he was, had encountered only two before in his life. Both had left rather powerful impressions upon him.

Kagome was crying, and holding on tightly to the demon, presumably named Shippo. He held her very gently, almost as if he was afraid she would disappear. It was clear that he meant her no harm.

_Friends? Or, perhaps more than that?_

His eyes twinkled brightly. It had been a long time since he had seen people so happy, especially in the dark times that had just descended upon them.

"Perhaps we should give them some space?" Albus suggested to Kagome's bewildered mother.

"Ah, yes, of course." Kagome's mother nodded. The two walked backed into the house, leaving the girl and the demon to their surprise reunion.

#####

The red fox demon, after a couple minutes, finally started to recover from the shock of finding Kagome. He let her go slowly.

"Shippo! You're alright! You survived! I'm so sorry for leaving you guys! I didn't want to - the jewel just took me away…" Kagome said. Her mind spun with all the questions she wanted to ask.

"It's okay, we're here now, and we have all the time in the world to discuss the past," Shippo said soothingly. "Now's probably not the time though, since it's quite a long story. I'm not going anywhere."

"Promise?"

"On all the Pocky I own!" Kagome broke into a smile. It really was Shippo! Even though he had grown so much, he was still the little kid she knew.

It was mind-boggling to try and connect the cute, mischievous little kit with this tall, lanky foreign young man. He looked liked perhaps 19 or 20, but at the same time, he was very much a young man and not a teenager. She looked up at the same deep green eyes…

"You're so tall now!" she blurted out. The petite Asian girl only came up to his shoulder now.

"Well, you know, I did grow a little bit over the last couple of centuries," he smiled wryly, "Come on, let's not keep the most powerful wizard in the world waiting."

He's was right, she decided, pushing the rush of questions to the back of her mind as she wiped her tears away (although she made a mental note of the "most powerful wizard" comment).

Shippo was here now, healthy and grown up, and that's all that mattered. The centuries she wanted to know about would take a long time to explain. She looked to apologize to the Headmaster for her outburst of tears; he was probably really confused…

"Oh!" Kagome said guiltily, "They left!"

"Yes, they went back inside the house. Are you going to Hogwarts then?" Shippo asked, as they walked.

"Yes, although it's a little odd since I don't think I have that sort of magic. Just priestess powers. Nothing like what the Headmaster did with his stick-waving."

Shippo shook his head. "The powers you have are a type of ancient magic, Kagome. Although it's more primitive magic, it's still the same thing, except now people use a wand to channel it."

"Does this mean I won't be able to do the kind of magic they'll teach at Hogwarts?" Kagome asked worriedly.

Shippo smiled. "No, I'm sure you'll be just fine. But, are you going to Hogwarts just now?"

"Yes, I'm transferring in, and I am supposed to go to Britain for the summer to be tutored. It seems a little odd though; doesn't Japan have a magic school?"

"Yes, it does," Shippo said frowning, "Two, actually. The Academy of Miyushi, and-" he grinned broadly at her, "The Shikon Light Institute."

"There's a school named after the jewel?"

"Well, more so after you," he said chuckling, "They have a statue of you upfront."

"Me? Really?" Kagome said, quite surprised, "But… I haven't really done anything…"

"Are you kidding me, Kagome? Oh, you don't know, do you?" As Kagome shook her head, Shippo promised to tell her later.

"It really is a rather long story," he said, "And I'd like to tell it all at once without stopping."

"Well, let's go get this all this Hogwarts stuff straightened out with Dumbledore. I'd better go with you. I don't want to let you out on the English Wizarding World alone. " Kagome smiled at him, touched by how he had grown up from the little kit.

That is, until he added with a childish grin, "Who knows how much havoc you'll wreck?" He pushed her and then ran for the house.

With a good-natured, "Hey!" Kagome chased Shippo.

####

"My friend Shippo will be joining us. I hope you don't mind," said Kagome as she and Shippo sat, "And I'm sorry about my, uh, lost of composure back there."

"No worries, your mother was telling me about the shrine, most interesting." Dumbledore smiled, and then proceeded to talk about Hogwarts.

"Miss Higurashi, your demonstration of magic power leads me to believe that you will learn fast. As you are older than most witches and wizards when they start to learn magic, you will most likely find that you are quite able to grasp first and second year studies, as they are planned for eleven and twelve-year-olds in mind. Your magic is more developed, so subjects that are practical in magic, such as Transfiguration, Charms, and Defense Against the Dark Arts will be easier to master quickly. Others, such as Herbology, History of Magic, and Potions will mostly rely on good old-fashioned studying. Your mother tells me you achieve high grades at your current school, so it shouldn't be a problem. If you are a diligent, disciplined worker you could go into a higher year when term starts. All of this depends on how much time and effort you want to put in over the summer."

"I will work very hard!" Kagome affirmed.

"Of that I have no doubt," he said, twinkling in his blue eyes. "Your magic in your demonstration was quite astounding."

Kagome blushed at this, and then quickly changed the subject with one of the questions she had been wondering about.

"How will I study all this, when I don't speak English well? I'll have to read and write, too," she said, worriedly.

"Ah, not to worry Miss Higurashi, there is a spell for that, one quite similar to the one I'm using at the moment. What will happen is that everything will be translated into Japanese in your mind. As time goes on, the spell slowly wears off, and you will actually be learning English at a rapid pace. Eventually, the spell will wear off entirely in about two months, and at that point, you will be able to read, write, and speak English quite fluently."

"That sounds wonderful! To be able to learn a language so quickly!" Kagome smiled.

"A very useful spell. I've never heard of one like it… Generally language-learning magic is done with complex potions…" Shippo mused.

"Yes, I devised this spell myself. Just a few modifications on the translation spell. There is a minor side effect - your ears will turn purple, as will all your fingernails. Very harmless, but for some unfathomable reason, many choose to use the time-consuming potions instead."

"Well, I see why I haven't heard of it." Shippo said with a smile.

"Yes indeed, although I find it little sacrifice in comparison to the knowledge that is gained, ah, Mister…? Forgive me, although you seem to know me, I do not recall you…"

"Ah, forgive my manners. You probably don't remember me. I am Shippo Isaka. We've met a couple times rather long ago." Dumbledore looked very surprised, and looked like he wanted to ask a couple questions, but Shippo changed the subject.

"Hear that Kagome? Purple ears?" Shippo said.

"I'll be fine, I mean, learning English in only two months!" Kagome replied.

"I'm glad to see that someone finally sees the value in my spell," Dumbledore said, beaming.

Dumbledore went on to tell them where Kagome would be staying for the summer—a friend's house, where a family and several kids around her age would also be staying. He would arrange for teachers to tutor her.

The tuition for Hogwarts was quite reasonable, and Kagome caught the look of relief on her mother's face. Most of the boarding schools in Japan had exorbitant prices, and she guessed that her mother had thought it would be around the same amount. Then the Headmaster went on to describe Hogwarts, and the Wizarding World.

"I am, perhaps, not the best person to describe our world to non-magical folk, as many things I would consider normal are most likely very odd in the Muggle world. However, there are some books that do a good job explaining our society." Dumbledore pulled two miniature books out of a small pouch he was carrying. Kagome and her mother watched in fascination as he said something and tapped the books with his wand, enlarging them.

"These are out of my personal collection, so please return them when you are done with them. I hope you find them informative," as he handed her _An Introduction to the Magical Society: Essential for Muggleborns _and _Guide to the English Wizarding World_.

"Thank you very much, I will return them in good condition," Kagome said, holding the two books.

"Headmaster, why is Kagome going to a magic school in Britain? The Academy of Miyushi and The Shikon Light Institute would both be ecstatic to have her in their schools. I do not think that Hogwarts usually takes students from Japan," said Shippo.

"Miss Higurashi's name appeared on the Hogwarts roster. Every student whose name appears on the roster is offered a chance to an education at Hogwarts," said Dumbledore.

Shippo's eyes narrowed at Dumbledore's sidestep of the question, but did not say anything further.

_There's definitely more to that._

"The sooner you can arrive to Britain, the better. You will need to begin your studies quickly. When would you like to leave?"

Kagome looked to her mother, who shrugged and said, "Whenever you want."

"In two days would be great."

"Wonderful! Now, the International Floo to Britain is down at the moment and international side-apparition is out of question, but perhaps we can apply for a portkey. That would take at least a week normally, but perhaps I can…"

"It's alright," Shippo interrupted, "I have to go to London anyways, I can take the airplane with Kagome, if she's okay with that. We have a lot to catch up on, and I could take her to Diagon Alley for her school supplies."

"That'd be great!" she said enthusiastically.

"Perfect! I'll have someone meet you to take you to the house," Dumbledore said.

Shippo caught the tip of a wand twirling behind his back.

Kagome's mother agreed, and than caught a glimpse of the clock, realizing that she had promised to visit a friend that night. She apologized, told Kagome to listen carefully to everything the headmaster had to say, and left.

Then, the wizened old man sighed, and seemed even older, if possible. His gaze grew solemn, and he began to speak.

"Miss Higurashi, I must warn you that the Wizarding World, particularly Britian, is not the safest at the moment. A man who calls himself Voldemort has returned and there have been many deaths. I did not want to alarm your mother. Our world is in turmoil." Kagome looked with surprise at him.

It didn't go unnoticed to Dumbledore that Shippo did not flinch at the name or looked scared. Instead, he looked expectant.

"Why aren't you worried about alarming me?" she asked.

"You have a right to know. If you decide to go to Hogwarts, this is the world that you'll be entering. It should be your choice whether you decide to use your powers or not. Seventeen is when wizards and witches become adults legally. You are fifteen, correct?"

"Well, yes."

"Fifteen?" Shippo murmured under his breath so that no one else heard. The math didn't quite add up… Shippo's eyes suddenly widened, and he looked straight at Kagome, taking in her appearance. He had not noticed it earlier outside in the dark, and it had been several hundred years since he had last seen her, but there were slight differences… He looked at her questioningly, but she gave a little shake of her head.

Later, then, he decided, he would get some answers.

"So anyway, who's Voldemort?" she said cautiously.

"Voldemort is a man who uses very dark magic. It was thought that he was dead, but he has returned to the world. He and his group of followers, called Death Eaters have killed many. They seem bent on ruling the world. It may very well be that our world will be plunged into war soon."

"How safe is the house I'll be staying at? And the school?"

"Rest assured, Hogwarts is extremely safe, as is the house. Both have numerous protections placed upon them. However, these are very dark times, for both Muggles (non-magical folk) and witches and wizards. I will not sugarcoat what will happen. There is no guarantee that you will be safe even here, in Japan. If you decide to enter Hogwarts, however, you will be plunged into the very center of the conflict."

Kagome sat silent for a minute.

_I'm not a stranger to war, like the one that Naraku wrought across the country… And you know that you can't live like a normal person, Kagome. Besides, this sort of magic sounds intriguing. I've only seen a translating spell, and imagine the possibilities of just that…_

"I understand, and I'd like to go to Hogwarts anyway."

Albus Dumbledore beamed.

####

"Goodnight Kagome! I'll see you soon!" Shippo said, waving. Kagome waved back, and closed the door. The lights on the ground floor of the house switched off.

Then, without warning, Shippo casually said, "Nice Muggle Repelling Charm."

Unfazed, Dumbledore replied, "Thank you."

Abruptly, "You know, you should tell Kagome the entire truth."

Dumbledore stayed silent.

_Whatever he's keeping from her, it's important._

"As you heard earlier, Kagome is older than she looks. She's also experienced much more than most adults will in their entire lives."

Then, "She will be safer if she does not know." _As will he, _Albus added silently.

"She would be safer as a Muggle. You are already throwing her into this war." Shippo continued as Dumbledore gazed at him.

"Kagome has a right to know exactly what she's getting into. She needs to know, whatever it is you're keeping from her, and she can handle it."

"They are just children." Dumbledore said quietly. Suddenly, Shippo sensed this conversation was no longer just about Kagome.

"Kagome is no longer a child – circumstances have forced her to grow up quickly. She has faced enemies just as terrible as Voldemort, and her life has been more complex than most people could imagine. Think of how she would feel, to know that something was kept something from her, after all she's been through." _And how he would feel._

And quietly, "Do not push people around so they fit into your plans. Do not commit injustices to individuals in the name of the greater good, Albus."

It was a good five minutes before either one of them said a word.

Finally, he replied.

"You have given me much to consider."

Albus looked directly into the eyes of the young man.

For a moment, his green eyes looked so very old.

And simultaneously, both turned away and disappeared into the night.

####

**The Muggle Repelling Charm is used in book four, so that Muggles think of something important they have to do whenever going near the World Cup pitch. Dumbledore used it on Kagome's mom.**

**Reviews greatly appreciated!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ugh, I'm so stupid. I accidentally deleted the fourth chapter and put the fifth chapter in its place, and I left it like that for a month. **

**I apologize for my inadequacies. **

**####**

A copy of the _Daily Prophet_ landed on the Headmaster's plate, with a corner dipping into his morning tea. He took the paper, and started to read it, with the wet corner shaking itself to dry.

Twenty minutes later, the Headmaster folded the newspaper, slumping back into his chair.

He had known in the back of his mind that this would come, but he had held onto hope. The name calling, mockery, constant denial, and lies had started, just like many other times in his life. The Wizarding community refused to believe the truth once again.

Albus was surprised that it still hurt.

####

Kagome's room was a mess. Among all the scattered clothes, Kagome was searching fruitlessly in her drawers.

"I know it's here somewhere," she muttered, "so why can't I find it?" Then she saw something pink sticking out of her desk drawer.

"Aha! I've got you now!" Kagome triumphantly reunited the two pink strawberry socks, and then tossed them into her suitcase.

"Now if I could only find my umbrella… England's suppose to be wet and rainy a lot right?"

"Well, Hogwarts is somewhere in Scotland I think, but it's pretty gloomy and wet over there too."

"Oh!" Kagome turned around, seeing Shippo leaning against the door casually in a rumpled t-shirt and jeans. She launched into a flying-tackle hug.

"Agh! Kagome! Too tight!" he said as he gasped for air.

"Sorry," she said sheepishly, "How'd you get in?"

"Your mom let me in. Looks like you need some help packing," he said, surveying the room.

"No, it's alright, I'm pretty much done, I just need to find my umbrella and clean up the rest of the stuff."

"Hmm, let's see if I can be of assistance…" Shippo pulled out a long twisted stick (a _wand_, she reminded herself) out of his coat pocket. Kagome brightened in anticipation of seeing magic again.

"Let's see if I can remember how to use this thing," he said, scrunching up his face in concentration.

Then, he muttered a couple syllables and twirled his wand.

Nothing happened.

"That's okay Shippo," Kagome said, trying to hide her disappointment, "I can…"

And then suddenly, things began zooming around the room. Books straightened themselves, shirts were neatly hung, a washcloth scrubbed the windows, and pencils sharpened themselves, with shavings dropping into a neat little pile that vanished. The umbrella she had been looking for zoomed out from beneath a pillow and laid itself neatly into the suitcase.

"There," Shippo said, quite pleased with himself. Everything looked sparkly clean and brand new.

"That was amazing Shippo!" Kagome exclaimed, "I don't think my room's ever looked so clean. It would have taken me hours to do this."

"Well, since now you have some extra time, do you want to go see the magical part of Tokyo? It'd be a shame if you didn't get to see it before you left."

"Yes, let's go!"

####

Shippo drove down to downtown Tokyo, about thirty minutes away from the shrine. During the ride, Kagome found out that Shippo had lived just about everywhere besides Antarctica during his life so far. He had held many different jobs, many of them demon or magic related.

"What kind of jobs?" Kagome asked, intrigued.

"I've tutored many young kitsunes in fox magic and other demons in general demon magic. I've been a bodyguard for some demon families. Once in a while I write books about magic. Most demons don't know how to use wizard magic, so I teach many of them how to use it."

Kagome's head spun. This Shippo had already, from the sound of it, a long and interesting life that she had absolutely no clue about. If he was teaching other demons and writing books, he was most likely very powerful.

"What are you doing now then?"

"Well, at the moment I'm unemployed," Shippo said, "I was working for demon family on a contract job, to get back an old demon heirloom that was stolen from them. Oh, I forgot to mention that I do a lot of stuff with magical artifacts, too. I found the heirloom for them a week ago, and now I'll going to Britian with you."

"I hope you're not going to Britian just because of me," Kagome said guiltily.

"No, I'm going to talk to Sesshomaru too; he said he might have something for me to do."

"Sesshomaru? He's alive?" The coolly silent taiyoukai in the 21st century… It was hard to imagine.

"Taiyoukai like him are practically impossible to kill," Shippo said wryly, "As you've witnessed several times."

_What about Inuyasha?_

The next logical question popped up in her head, but before she could form the words, she pressed her lips shut.

_What if he died? I don't think I could handle it. It already hurts enough…_

And so, she swallowed hard and shoved the question to the back of her mind, knowing that it would definitely pop up again later.

####

Kagome was puzzled as Shippo lead her into the sleek glass building. Where was he headed? Surely the 'Magical Tokyo' was not in the business building, among the people in suits walking briskly with their briefcases?

"Are you sure this is the right place?" asked Kagome.

"Just trust me," Shippo said, smiling. They boarded the elevator, along with two businessmen, and Shippo pressed the button for the top floor.

Kagome and Shippo waited as people got on and off the elevator. Shippo motioned for Kagome to stay on the elevator when the doors opened to the top floor. When the elevator was empty, he waved his hand over the elevator buttons, and with a flash of blue, a new button formed above the top floor. Shippo pressed it, and Kagome fell hard against the wall as the elevator shot up quickly.

"Sorry, they really need to fix that," Shippo muttered. The doors opened, and they stepped out, with the doors vanishing behind them.

Kagome looked at the scene before her, dumbfounded. It almost looked like they had traveled back to the Feudal Era… except the villages back then didn't exist on clouds.

All the buildings were in the old traditional Japanese style, and there were many people walking in the streets. The ground looked like regular earth, but when she looked to end of the street, it gave way to wispy cloud. She could also see a couple people riding broomsticks among the clouds, and one person was even riding a fire cat, reminding Kagome of Kirara.

There was so much to look at – the shops selling potion ingredients, magical animals, books, and more. Many people were dressed in kimonos and hakamas.

They decided to go into the shop for magical creatures first, and Kagome oohed and ahhed over the cute little kittens, owls, toads, and baby dragon turtles. The letter from Hogwarts had said she would be allowed to bring an animal.

She couldn't choose between one of the cute dragon turtles and a kitten, when she noticed an owl standing on a cage in the corner. It was reddish russet, with black on the tips of its inner feathers and its legs. The owl flapped its wings when it noticed Kagome, and gave a hoot.

It looked intelligently at Kagome, and let her touch her feathers.

"She likes you, Kagome," Shippo said. He smiled cheerfully as he dropped several large silver coins into the shopkeeper's hands, who smiled and bowed. When Kagome protested that she would pay, he turned and asked her how much all the pocky, ramen, crayons, and first aid kits she bought were worth.

Shippo caught Kagome's involuntary winch at the thought.

"I'm just paying you back," Shippo said with a grin, "Plus, she can carry your mail home."

Magical Tools was Kagome's favorite shop. The shop sold mainly wands, but there were also magical war fans and a few extremely pricey swords. Kagome examined the highly decorated swords.

"Those are mainly just for show," Shippo told Kagome, "Very few people have enough power to use a magical sword. People like to hang them up in their house and pretend that ancestor so-and-so was one of the old warlords. Most people use wands, but there are some who learn how to use the war fans. Girls like them a lot."

Kagome could see why. The fans were very pretty, and looked like something any girl could be holding.

After that, they stopped in a book shop. Kagome bought a couple books – _Beginner's Guide to Traditional Japanese Magic, 101 Spells Essential for the Young Wizard or Witch, _and _A History of Japanese Magic. _She couldn't wait to find out more about this new magical world.

"It's so hard to believe all this," she said to Shippo, "All this time I thought my world was so boring, and that all the magic had been left behind in the Feudal Era. I wondered a lot what had happened to demons and magic, and it turns out it was here all along. This is like a dream."

"I hope not," Shippo laughed, "That would mean that I'm not real."

The two of them browsed shops and got ice cream. They reached the market square, and while Shippo took a close look at some so called 'demon parts', Kagome wandered looking at the various magical trinkets.

"Young lady, this hair ornament would look beautiful on – "

"Look here Miss, these pills are guaranteed to make that boy fall for you, 25% off just for you!"

"Miss, this new ring here will change color when an untrustworthy person is nearby-"

Kagome didn't buy anything, but she looked curiously at all the items for sale.

"How does this ring work?" she asked.

"Well, it reads auras, and when someone has ill intent toward you, the stone will change from the silver color to a deep black. Made with a rather tricky variation of the Aura Detecting Charm, and also very pretty too. I'll give you a good price for it," the vendor said, naming a price.

"Another 10% off and I'll take it," she said.

"Done," said the vendor. She paid, and he pulled out his wand, the ring quickly wrapping itself up in blue paper. A ribbon neatly tied itself on the package.

Kagome caught it as it dropped into her hands, and put it into her pocket. She browsed some more, keeping an eye on Shippo, who was now sniffing suspiciously at some items while the vendors stared at him. She chucked a little- he looked so much like Inuyasha at the moment!

_Inuyasha…_

The pain almost started to take over.

_I'll ask Shippo when I get back home._

She resolutely tried to push the thought of Inuyasha away.

"Miss? Miss, are you alright?" an old raspy voice asked.

"Yes, I'm fine now," Kagome said, looking up at the woman who had asked the question.

The first thing Kagome noticed was that the woman looked to be all white: her white hair, white kimono, and pearly white skin. The middle aged woman was kneeling on the side of the street on a square piece of fabric, between market stalls. Much of her kimono was frayed and torn, and the woman looked very poor, thin and frail.

"Would you care for your fortune to be told, miss?" she asked, in her raspy voice.

_Why not?_ Kagome thought.

"Hey, don't pay her," the man in the stall next to them said, "You'll waste your money. She always tells the same fortune; she's not a true Seer."

The old woman paid him no heed, and picked up a round mirror. Kagome's eyes widened.

_Kanna? But she died!_

The woman peered into her scrying mirror as it began to fog over.

"Kagome…" the woman said in her raspy voice.

"Kanna?" Kagome said, bewildered.

"Kagome!" the woman's voice changed suddenly, into a high musical voice, one of a young girl's. The black eyes stared at her.

Unknown to both of them, several startled shoppers and vendors turned toward them.

"I have been waiting for you, Kagome. My soul has passed through and back, but yours remains the same. And so one journey has ended, and another has begun. Shikon Miko, listen carefully. The Dark has risen on the island far away, and your awakening will either plunge the world into light or dark. Your seal has been lifted, you have your entire soul, and now you must realize what your powers mean. You must learn..."

The mist in the mirror formed an image of a long, tethering bridge.

Her voice dropped an octave.

"If not, the worlds will meld, and all will be lost. Those that your soul has battled for the past thousand years… have broken free once more."

Then, the mist formed a horrifying image, a snakelike man that had burning coals for eyes and no nose… And then the tendrils of fog in the mirror reformed, showing a bony, ugly baby that didn't seem to have skin, covered in blood screaming.

The woman in white stood up, and threw the scrying mirror up into the air, glinting in the sun. Then, it shattered, turning into glittering dust. Kagome looked back at the woman, to see her smiling a sad smile. Her figure became misty, and was blown away by the breeze.

There was a shocked silence in the usually loud and bustling market square. Quite a crowd had gathered around Kagome and where the old woman had stood.

Kagome turned around, only to find many eyes staring at her.

"The Shikon Miko." An old man whispered.

"That's impossible, the woman was insane."

"Then explain that mirror!"

"She looks like the statue in front of the school…"

"Is this some sort of staged performance?"

"What happened to that old woman?" someone muttered.

"Are you really the Shikon Miko?" Before Kagome could think about how to answer the question, Shippo pushed through the crowd.

"Come on Kagome, let's go," he said, pulling her away from the crowd. A couple people followed them, but Shippo and Kagome ducked into an alley, and soon the crowd had dispersed.

"Jeez, I leave you alone for twenty minutes and this is what happens," he said.

"Did you see what happened?"

"I only saw that that old fortune teller throw her mirror up and disappear. What did she say to you?" Kagome described the warning, and the confusing, chilling images in the mirror.

"I think that old woman was Kanna's reincarnation," she said, recalling the white clothes, hair, dark eyes and mirror.

"But it's almost impossible to find out about your former life," Shippo said, furrowing his brows. They walked back to where the elevator had been, and within minutes they were back in normal Tokyo.

####

Harry pulled out the stupid weeds with frustration. He was hot and sweaty, kneeling on the grass, while the Dursleys were inside watching television in the cool, air-conditioned house. It had only been a week since Hogwarts let out, and already, the usual summer depression had sunk in.

None of his friends had owled him a reply yet, either. Yes, it had only been a week so far, but it felt like a month. Usually they wrote to him within one or two days, knowing how much he hated being at the Dursleys. And they had a lot to talk about – Cedric, Voldemort's return, the Death Eaters.

Suddenly, he heard a loud crack, coming from behind the tree.

_It sounds like someone apparating. A Death Eater?_

He casually looked at the tree from the corner of his eye, shook the dirt off his hands, and then got up and ran full force at where the sound had come from. A yelp came as someone crashed into the fence. Harry quickly tried to hold the person down, although it was a bit hard considering that they were invisible. He ended up on top of them and struggling to hold down a flailing limb.

"Show yourself!" Harry said, prodding the solid, yet invisible body.

"Fine, fine!" the voice said, as the Disillusionment Charm was taken off.

"Who are you? Are you a Death Eater?" Harry asked, surprised as he saw a purple-haired witch who looked to be only a couple years older than him.

"No, I'm not a Death Eater, you can check my arms if you want. I'm not going to try and kill you or anything of that sort," she said. Harry did indeed pull up her sleeves, and upon finding nothing, he got off of her, with his wand still trained on her.

_She could still be a Death Eater, just one that hasn't gotten the tattoo yet._

"Who are you? Why are you here?"

"Err… You're not suppose to know." she said grumpily, "I'm already bad enough at Stealth and Tracking, they're not going to trust me with a job like this again. Moody's going to be angry."

"Are you an Auror?" Harry asked when he heard the bit about Mad-Eye Moody. She nodded. Then, slowly, it hit him.

"Did Dumbledore tell you to watch me? Or the Ministry?" he demanded angrily.

"Dumbledore just wanted to make sure that you're safe," she said, trying to calm the angry wizard with his wand pointed at her.

"I don't need to be watched like some little kid!" he yelled.

"Careful, the Muggles!" she said, nervously as his voice rose. He looked around, but no one else was outside in the burning heat, and it didn't seem like the Dursleys had heard them.

"Okay, fine. What's your name?" he said.

"Call me Tonks. It's nice to meet you Harry, even if this isn't exactly how I imagined it. Remus has told me all about you."

"What is Professor Lupin's nickname?" he asked.

_There, only his friends would know that._

"Moony," she said with a cheeky smirk. At that, Harry finally lowered his wand. The purple-haired witch stood in front of him, looking a little upset.

"Let's make a deal. I'll pretend that this never happened, and that I don't know anyone's watching me, and you'll tell me what's going on." Harry said.

"Alright," Tonks said with a sigh of relief. She really didn't want Moody to yell at her again.

Harry found out that there were a group of people watching and following him in shifts. They were to make sure that he was protected and that he wouldn't get into any trouble.

"So I'm followed around all day?" Harry said grumpily as he pulled at the weeds. Tonks had recasted the Disillusionment Charm, and was also helping him pull out weeds. It was a bit strange watching the weeds pull themselves out.

"Just during the daylight hours," said Tonks, "It's hard enough finding members for the Order as it is, so we reckoned that you'd be alright inside the house."

"What's the Order?"

The disembodied voice groaned loudly.

"I'm not suppose to know what that is either, right?"

To the right of Harry came the sound of someone slapping herself repeatedly.

######

Review please!


	5. Chapter 5

Hey everyone, sorry for the long wait. Enjoy!

#####

The air was still on the warm summer's night. Harry tossed and turned on the thin mattress, attempting to drift off to sleep. Finally, he stood up, restless, and went to the window. Up and down the street, silent houses stood with their perfectly manicured lawns, bathed in moonlight. Families slept peacefully behind those plain walls. It all looked so very normal.

There was not a single sign that, just three weeks ago, Voldemort had risen, ready to plunge the world in war once more. The Dark Lord with his new body, was ready – to massacre, to torture, to terrify, and to spread a reign of darkness and madness.

_And I'm his number one target_, Harry thought to himself grimly. He had no grand delusions of battling Voldemort and winning. He had already escaped from Voldemort four times – but they was just that, _escapes_, and by sheer luck, too.

_I'm going to run out of luck sometime. I have to learn more magic if I want to survive. _

And with this mindset, the past month had probably been the most productive ones in his life. He had quickly gotten all his summer assignments done within the first two weeks. When Hermione had asked the inevitable, _'Have you gotten your summer assignments done yet?'_, Harry had responded with an extremely satisfied _'Yes'_, wishing that he would've been able to see her expression. He had practically been able to feel her beaming smile through her reply. Ron's letter had been rather less happy.

_Harry- _

_Blimey! You finished your summer assignments? Great for you, I guess, but you didn't have to tell Hermione about it! Now she's on me to finish mine! Don't you have anything better to do? Well, 'spose I can't blame you, there probably isn't anything to do over there. _

_Hermione said she'll probably come in two weeks, after her vacation is over. Anyway, still trying to __convince the adults to get you over here sooner, hopefully it works out._

_-Ron_

Tonks had said it would probably be at least a month until he could visit. Harry sighed. Another month. He could do this.

Harry had, of course, done the assignments mostly because of boredom. Then, with self-preservation in mind, he had gone through his Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook and memorized all the spells he thought were useful. If he ever ended up in a duel against Voldemort again, he would have to know more spells to survive. He couldn't practice any of the spells since he wasn't seventeen yet, but it helped to know their incantations and what exactly they were suppose to do.

Of course, there hadn't been many more spells in the 4th year DADA textbook, so Harry decided to ask about how to learn more from the best – an Auror. Tonks had looked surprised at his initiative – he hadn't seemed like the studious, bookworm type (and he really wasn't, just the kind who wanted to stay alive), but she told him he could owl order books from Flourish & Blotts. Harry hadn't thought of that, even though Hermionie had placed owl orders many times while she was at Hogwarts. He had decided to ask Tonks more questions on how to learn magic, just in case she brought up more obvious things that he had forgotten about.

"So how would a person go about trying to learn more magic if they can't actually use magic?" Harry had asked. Tonks looked at him, a little surprised.

"Well, I suppose you could memorize spells until you get to Hogwarts, but magic really is all about practice. The most you could during the summer is study and read up on magic," she had said, tapping her finger.

"One of the older Aurors did mention that studying the theory and concepts behind magic helps a lot. He said it helps to understand magic when performing spells."

Harry had nodded, and then had promptly ordered for books that night. He had also added a note asking the books to be sent at night – Petunia and Vernon would have a fit if they saw an owl carrying books to their house.

And so, two days later, the books had arrived, carried by three exhausted owls. He guiltily realized that he might've ordered more books than he thought he did. Harry quickly let them in, unwrapping the books as the owls tiredly hopped over to the water dish and owl treats he had left out.

There were six books. Three on defensive magic – _Defending Yourself Against the Dark by Melinda Grosbeak, Offensive Spells Against Your Enemies by Mavis Courlow, _and _Defense Against the Dark Arts – A Comprehensive Guide, by Shippo Isaka. _He had gotten one book on charms, _Protective Charms by Tyler Plitte, _and two books on magic theory – _Concepts Behind Magic, Book One, by Shippo Isaka, _and _Magical Theory, by Lucinda Raowl. _

Harry had blinked. He hadn't realized he had bought two books by the same author. He shrugged. Authors of books like these were probably multitalented.

Harry found most of the DADA books immensely useful, since they covered more advanced spells in greater detail. The Charms book brought up some interesting applications of charms he would've never thought of, as well as several new charms that he hadn't heard of. The books on magic, however, were probably the most interesting books he had ever read. They explained a lot about how to use magic, and where magic was theorized to come from. _Concepts Behind Magic _even gave practice exercises with each chapter that would help increase the control of magic, some which didn't even require a wand.

Of course, it was a good thing that this summer the Dursleys had decided to simply ignore him. No one noticed that Harry now spent much of his time reading suspiciously thick books with moving pictures. The Dursleys avoided talking to him if they could. Vernon and Petunia did not care where Harry went, as long as he wasn't visible to them or the neighbors. Meals consisted of the Dursleys making conversation while pointedly ignoring him. A weekly list of chores was posted on Harry's door every Monday, but Petunia had lightened up on them ever since Sirius Black became a threat. It was mostly just garden work and cleaning the kitchen, since they didn't want him to go into their rooms or touch anything valuable.

As long as he finished what was on the list, Petunia left him alone. Dudley stayed far away from him, with wariness and a hint of respect. Because of this, Harry concluded that it was the best summer at the Dursleys so far (but that wasn't saying much).

Most especially since, this summer, he didn't have to go through it all alone. The 'Harry Watch', as Tonks dubbed it, was a blessing in disguise. Initially, he had been quite frustrated that Dumbledore thought he needed people to keep him out of trouble. Hermionie's letter's didn't come often, since she was still on vacation, but Ron's letters infuriated him. He dodged all questions about all the important things Harry wanted to know – _What's happening with Voldemort? Is Dumbledore taking any action? Have their been attacks? What have you been doing? _

Luckily, Tonks explained everything. He was quite sure that he would've gone crazy with his anger without her. She talked about the puzzling lack of attacks by Voldemort, meetings of the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's precautions, and the Weasley's plan to move into Sirius's old house, as well as the overwhelming need for secrecy. Initially she had been wary of telling him so much, especially about the Death Eaters, but Harry had worn her down with his persuasive arguments.

Really, it was hard to argue with the Boy-Who-Lived when he only wanted information about the people that were trying their best to kill him.

Best of all, Tonks was someone to talk to, even if she was disillusioned most of the time. Yes, he often got stares as when he walked around the park seemingly talking to himself, but hey, a disembodied voice was better than nothing. The pair talked about other things when they ran out of news and ideas about Voldemort and the Death Eaters. They talked about Harry's adventures at Hogwarts, Tonk's job as an Auror, magic, Wizarding society and culture, and generally anything they found interesting. She entertained him with her Metamorphmagus tricks (which had startled him at first, and then made him laugh). Harry was surprised as to how much he was enjoying the summer so far, just because he had someone to talk to. She was quirky and fun, and even though they were strangers when they had meet, Harry soon considered her a friend.

Harry had wondered if she would tell anyone that he knew about the guards that followed him around. Thankfully, when Harry had brought it up, Tonks assured him that she wouldn't tell anyone, since that would lead to a conversation about how he had discovered her. Really, it would be embarrassing for others to find out an auror, even a rookie one like her, had been discovered and held at wandpoint by a teenager.

"They'd make fun of me for months," Tonks said darkly, "And Moody would never get off my back about it."

She followed him around either under an invisibility cloak or a Disillusionment Charm three days each week. The other days, Mundungus Fletcher followed him around. Although honestly, how the Order of the Phoenix expected to keep the 'Harry Watch' a secret from him was beyond him. None of the older, more experienced witches and wizards had wanted to follow around a teenage boy (even if it was _Harry Potter_) on the hot summer days, so Mundungus, being generally useless, and Tonks, being the rookie auror, had been assigned to the job. Between Tonk's clumsiness and the undisguised _cracks_ of apparition when Mundungus was skiving off on the job (which was often), Harry was sure that even if he hadn't discovered Tonks that day, he would've caught on to the fact that _someone_ was watching him.

Yesterday, Tonks had also let it slip that someone else was watching him too, a squib – _Mrs. Figg_, the mad old lady with all the cats,of all people. This tidbit of information had caused Harry to be momentarily stunned.

Mrs. Figg was reporting to Dumbledore. That meant that Dumbledore had to know – _he had to know about the Dursleys. _He had to know how they didn't want him. He had to know how they had purposely excluded him, and how they discouraged magic. He had to know about how cruel the Dursleys had been to him as a child. He had to know how badly they had mistreated him.

Mrs. Figg, at the very least, would've known how they treated Harry as an outcast, and excluded him from all trips, by leaving him at her house. She would've known how Petunia had looked down upon him. She had seen him when he was young – wearing only Dudley's old, worn clothes, and usually hungry, since the Dursleys often made him go without supper. She had probably even seen Dudley and his friends 'Harry hunting'.She surely would've reported all this to Dumbledore – _Dumbledore, who had known all along and had done absolutely nothing about it._

This train of thought had quickly raced through Harry's mind. Tonks had not quite understood why it seemed like Harry had suddenly started pouring steam out of his ears. He had not explained his sudden irateness – Harry hadn't wanted to tell Tonks about his unhappy childhood, out of embarrassment and shame.

The sudden realization that Dumbledore, someone who Harry had looked up to for the past four years, had known that the Dursleys had mistreated him and had done nothing about it stunned Harry. He was _angry_. Sure, the Dursleys weren't that bad now that they tried to ignored him, but they had been so much worse when he was younger.

When Harry had finally stopped being furiously angry (a confused Tonks had to stop him from breaking out his broom and flying to Hogwarts), he had paced around a lot, thinking.

With the remnants of his anger, and a feeling that there was more to the entire story, Harry had been unable to sleep.

And so now, with all the thoughts swirling in his head, Harry went to the small desk and turned on the beaten up old lamp, casting a golden pool of light in the room.

_I'm not going to go about this recklessly,_ Harry thought. That had gotten him into real trouble more times than he cared to remember. He had decided to write everything down in a list, to help him regain some semblance of control. Hermionie had suggested it to him once, so that he would think things through.

_Dumbledore put guards on me this summer to make sure I stay out of trouble._

_Dumbledore has had Mrs. Figg watching me, most likely ever since I came to Privet Drive._

_Dumbledore knew about the Dursleys, and did nothing._

_Dumbledore is the head of the Order of Phoenix._

_It's said that Dumbledore is the only person who Voldemort fears. _

_Voldemort keeps on trying to kill me. _

_My mom's sacrifice caused the killing curse to backfire._

_Voldemort and I have twin wand cores._

Harry frowned. Much of the list centered around him. But why? Sure, he was the Boy-Who-Lived, and the toddler who survived the killing curse would definitely be celebrated, but did he warrant such attention by the two of the most powerful wizards of the time?

He decided to start from the beginning of everything.

_Voldemort was after my parents._

No, that wasn't right. Harry had a hazy memory of that night, one that sometimes showed up in nightmares. Voldemort had told Lily to _step aside, silly girl_, and she had begged him to take her instead. Voldemort had been after him, even when he was just a _baby_. He blinked at this revelation, and crossed out the first line.

Harry couldn't believe it. He had almost forgotten. He had asked the question, directly to Dumbledore, when he had been in first year, after the incident with the Philosopher's Stone.

_Why had Voldemort tried to kill me when I was just a baby?_

He stared at the paper. Dumbledore had looked very sad and old, and had not answered the question then.

_The answer to that question would quite possibly answer all the questions I have._

He continued on with his list.

_Voldemort was after me, even as a baby, for some unknown reason._

_My parents knew Voldemort was after me, since they put the house under a Fidelius Charm. They probably knew why he was after me, too._

_Peter Pettigrew was the Secret Keeper, and told Voldemort where the house was._

_He killed my dad, and then told my mom to move aside, so he could kill me. My mom refused, and he killed her. Then, when he tried to kill me, the curse backfired, and he disappeared._

_Dumbledore says that it was because her sacrifice made some sort of shield._

_I was then left on the Dursleys' doorstep._

The question came up again. Why in the world would a Dark Lord specifically target a baby? Harry started another list.

_Possible reasons why Voldemort would want to kill a baby:_

_1. Some sort of twisted revenge on my parents for something they did. _

But no. James had already died, and Voldemort's intent hadn't really seemed like it had been to make Lily suffer as much as possible. Harry crossed that line out.

_2. Part of a ritual that would've made him stronger? _

But then he could've used any baby, and he had specifically targeted him. Perhaps there were some especially dark rituals that could only use babies born at certain times of the year, or at certain phases of the moon, like some of their Potions ingredients? But Voldemort was still trying to kill him. If it had been a ritual, he probably would've given up since it hadn't worked the first time. He scratched that line out too.

_3. For some reason, he was sacred of me? I was- and still am, a threat?_

Well, it certainly explained why Voldemort was still trying to kill him. Why would an evil wizard be scared of a baby? What would've made Lily and James hide for the sake of a baby? Harry tapped his pen on his desk, trying to think. What was a valid reason for Voldemort to be scared? Quickly, Harry wrote.

_I'm essential to his defeat. I'm going to kill him. _

That was something. Voldemort's biggest fear was most likely being defeated or killed. If a baby was going to do that, he would've absolutely tried to eliminate the threat. But, this was all in the future. How could anyone know that a baby would defeat him? Seeing into the future? It made him think of all the crap that Trelawney spouted about his death. That batty old hag...

_But Trelawney made a real prophecy! In third year, about Peter Pettigrew! _Harry thought, bolting straight up. _Could someone had made one about me? Saying that I would defeat Voldemort? Maybe the centaurs? They were all mysterious with me first year in the Forbidden Forest. Perhaps Trelawney herself? It would certainly explain why Dumbledore keeps her around. _

And so, Harry slowly wrote with his pen – _A prophecy?_

_#####_

Up, far far away in the sky, Kagome looked out to the dimming light of the sky. The engine of the airplane gave a pleasant hum. They were in the business section, where they had a row all to themselves. Shippo had said it was for privacy, so others were less likely to overhear what they were saying. The plane had lifted off twenty minutes ago.

The two had already discussed the incident in Magical Tokyo while they had waited to board the plane. Shippo had been unsettled by the whole event, saying that he had never heard of something like that happening. After thinking it through, Kagome had decided the woman _had_ to be Kanna. Kagome had seen the same soulless eyes on that woman, and the mirror had been the same too.

_But she had died..._ Kagome sighed, chilled. And that dire warning. The long, teetering bridge. The skinless, screaming baby. They would only add to the nightmares she had.

_I've dealt with scarier things. The only way to move is forwards_, she thought, feeling much older than both her physical and mental age. Kagome slumped back into her seat.

It would be a long plane ride to London. Luckily Tomomi, the owl she had bought in Magical Tokyo, was peacefully sleeping in his cage on the seat next to her. Shippo had casted what he called a 'Notice-Me-Not' spell on bird, so none of the airplane attendants would ask questions.

"So, what happened after I left you guys?" Kagome asked softly. To be extra cautious, Shippo took out his wand and muttered a spell that sounded suspiciously like 'muffins', telling her it prevented others from eavesdropping.

"Hmm, where to begin," Shippo mused, running his fingers through his long black hair. Kagome personally thought it was rather odd to see him looking like a human, but then again, it was still odd to see him as a grown adult, and herself as a 15-year-old teenager. She much preferred his striking orange hair, but he said it drew more attention than he wanted.

"I'm sure you saw this coming, but Miroku and Sango got married. The wedding was a couple months after you left. By the end of the first year, they had a child, a baby girl. They named her Kagome."

Kagome's eyes glistened, and she sat silent, with a smile playing on her lips at the thought of Sango and Miroku's family, and their gesture towards her. She missed the pair sorely, but was very glad that both had finally found happiness, after everything they had been through.

"They ended up having five children altogether, and all of them became demon slayers. Kohaku lived because of your wish. When Rin grew up, the two of them got married." Kagome laughed in delight.

"And Sesshomaru approved?" she said, with a wide smile.

"Yes well, I believe his exact words were, 'Do her wrong, and you shall die,'" Shippo said, rolling his eyes, "But they got along fine. They had two children. I don't know much about what happened to them after that, since I left the village then."

"You left the village?" Kagome asked curiously.

"Well, yeah," Shippo said, looking a little uncomfortable, "There hadn't been much reason for me to stay without you. Miroku and Sango traveled a lot, as did Kohaku, and they had their families, while I was still a little kid. Inuyasha and Kikyo didn't live there either, and so I decided to go live with other demons. I went to a school for kitsunes." Kagome nodded. Shippo cleared his throat – now came the difficult part to tell.

"Your wish somehow gave Kikyo her own soul. I don't know how you did it Kagome, but she wasn't the Kikyo we knew anymore. She had real emotions, and she didn't need the soul stealers anymore, but she wasn't really human either – her body was still clay. She and Inuyasha had a very complicated relationship," Shippo said. Kagome nodded, telling him to go on.

"They argued often," Shippo said softly, "But they did live together sometimes. She and Inuyasha went around fighting demons together, when they weren't fighting. Sometimes they were so peaceful together, and other times they barely spoke a word to one another."

"As time went on, the silences grew, and they stopped traveling together. Kikyo died in battle, 120 years after you left. Inuyasha found her and buried her. I think he saw it coming, and had come to terms with it by the time she had died. He traveled to many places, and died 50 years later. I found him afterward, and he had died in a fight too, protecting the village." Shippo paused, watching Kagome, who had a sad, pained expression on her face.

_He died. I'll never see him again._

"He's buried underneath one of the unmarked gravestones near the God Tree on your shrine. It's the one nearest to the tree."

"Thanks Shippo," Kagome said quietly, blinking back the tears. She would visit the grave when she came back to Japan. Her fists were tight, and she tried not to think, to think about the heartbreak, about losing him, about _really_ losing him now, the pain –_If I start crying now I don't think I'll be able to ever stop – _ she shoved all back down, put on a neutral expression, and changed the subject.

"Is anyone else besides you alive?" Kagome asked. Shippo started slightly at the change in conversation, but went along with it."

"Well, you already know that Sesshomaru's alive a well. Still powerful, silent, and deadly. Doesn't look much different. One of the most powerful lords in the demon world," Shippo said.

"Oh, and Kouga's still alive, I think. I last saw him forty years ago, don't know where he is now."

"Has he changed at all?" Kagome asked.

"Not much," Shippo said smiling, "But he looks like he could be your father." Kagome laughed.

"So, are there a lot of demons now? Are they all just hiding from us normal humans?" Kagome asked, smiling.

"Well, not nearly as many as there were in the feudal era," Shippo said, "But there's a sizable amount of us. Most of the older demons just stay within the demon world. A lot of the younger ones travel the world though, like I do. Demons hide from humans with concealment charms. We hide from the Wizarding World too. Most wizards and witches think we're extinct. Some of them do know that we exist, like Dumbledore did, but they're generally discouraged to making that sort of information widespread. We interact with both magical and non-magical humans often, but they don't know what we really are."

"I understand hiding from normal humans, but what about the magical ones? Don't they know all about magical creatures?"

"Well, we're not really creatures," Shippo said frowning, "More of beings." Kagome winced as she realized that she might have offended him, and hurried to apologize.

"No, it's alright," Shippo said, "It's a mistake a lot of magical humans make. Most of them are a little prejudiced against other magical beings. See, normal humans are afraid of us, but we're really just a shadowy myth to them. Wizards and witches however, know that we have more power than they could imagine. They're really scared of us, and honestly, demons just got rather tired of them trying to catch and kill us. So, we let them think that they were succeeding, and just generally withdrew from their world. 'Course, we're still here, powerful as ever, but they don't know that." Kagome sat quietly, thinking. Finally, she started to speak.

"Don't you think it's a little sad? Just how many different worlds is Earth divided into? A non-magical world, a Wizarding world, a demon world," Kagome said, "How sad, that they all hide and avoid each other. How many other fairytales and legends are true? How many other powerful beings have hidden themselves?"

_If the real magicians of the world have to hide themselves, and so do demons, then what's to say that Atlantis isn't hiding? That gods and goddesses live in their own world too? _

Shippo looked at Kagome oddly.

"It's the way things have been for a long time. I've never really thought about it that way." The pair lapsed into silence, as Kagome looked out the window, gazing at the clouds passing by.

Shippo forgot just how surprising Kagome was sometimes. Back in the feudal era, he had thought it was because she had been from the future. Her surprising behavior and personality had been, by much of the group, attributed to the fact that she was from a different era. It had been taken in stride, along with the instant noodles, pocky, crayons, and her odd clothes.

Now, centuries later, he realized that she was rather unique here too.

#####

Harry walked up the steps and into the house, and closed the door with a soft clip. Then, checking to make sure no one was watching him inside the house, he put an ear up against the door. He waited...

_Crack!_

And Mundungus had apparated away. Harry rolled his eyes. He was _suppose_ to stay near the house until nightfall, and follow Harry if he left the house. It was only two o'clock, and the guy had already left. Why in the world would Dumbledore trust someone like him? Then again, Dumbledore trusted _Snape_, and his loyalty was much more questionable than Mundungus'.

Vernon and Dudley were out, but Petunia was in the living room, so Harry decided not to make a dash to the kitchen for food. Lunch for him had been a piece of toast on a plate that Petunia had shoved towards him. Harry quietly walked up the steps, and into his room.

The _Daily Prophet_ was sitting on his desk. Disgustedly, Harry threw it into the trash. He had started to read it thoroughly last week, when Tonks had asked him if the reason for his bad mood was because of the newspapers (it had really been because Aunt Marge was going to be at dinner that night.) The paper was riddled with stupid snide jokes and sarcastic comments about him that made him angry.

He threw open his trunk lid, where the the pastries that Hermionie had sent from France were. Harry opened the plastic bag with a Self-Preserving Charm (a practical Hermionie had ordered them from Diagon Alley right before she left on vacation), and decided on one of the chocolate bread pastries. Hermionie had written that she had hurriedly bought a dozen of those delicious pastries when her parents turned their backs, knowing they would chide her for all the sugar in them.

Sitting down on his bed, Harry began to read where he left off in _Defending Yourself Against the Dark, _savoring the chocolate pastry as he read_. _The current chapter discussed variations of _Protego, _and the page Harry was on was about the spell _Protego Totalum, _which would shield an entire site from attack. Half an hour passed, and Harry stopped reading at the end of the chapter.

He then picked up a thick, brown red book that had the worlds _Concepts Behind Magic_ printed in large scrolling letters on the cover, and decided to try one of the exercises. The author of the book, someone with the non-English name of Shippo Isaka, had written some very interesting theories of magic. Of all the books he had owl-ordered, this one was probably his favorite.

Harry had never been particularly studious at Hogwarts, and the Dursleys had always discouraged academic achievement from him, so as not to show up Dudley. However, he was surprised at how much he enjoyed reading and learning when it was something he was really interested in. The information from the book answered questions about magic that Harry had always wondered about, but never asked.

He was currently reading about one of the important concepts about magic – magical cores. It began by saying that all magical beings were born with a magical core. In wizards and witches, the level of power in the magical core is pretty constant and aside from growing a little with age, it does not change in normal circumstances.

_Magic is a wondrous thing, and it sits coiled and ready inside each magical core. Although every witch and wizard is born with an inherent level of magic, through considerable practice of magic, more and more of the magical core is available for us to draw upon. The size of a magical core plays a large role in how much magic the user wields, but it is not the only deciding factor in magical prowess. For example, dragons have an extremely large magical core that, along with their size, makes them very formidable. However, their magic is very wild and undirected. A wizard, who has magical core is quite small in comparison, is able to will his magic to do precisely what he wants, which also can make him a formidable opponent. _

_To aid the control and directing of magic from the magical core, magical humans use implements to act as a conduit for their magic. Wands are the preferred choice for most wizards and witches, although war fans and swords are still used in Asia, magical drums in parts of Africa, and the usage of staffs was popular in ancient times. Wands (and most other implements) contain a magical core, be it dragon heartstring, phoenix feather, or unicorn hair. Both the magical cores of wizards and wands are responsive. A wand, with regular use, becomes acquainted with the wizard's magical core, and adapts itself to to the user's particular style or usage of magic. Many witches and wizards do not realize just how essential it is to have a wand that suits them – the wrong wand can make magic very difficult._

Harry nodded as he read that statement – Ron's hand-me-down wand had been extremely temperamental. The slug incident had been proof of that.

_However, as essential as wands are, they do, in essence, handicap us. The magical core of a wand lends itself to smoothing out and concentrating the user's magic. Because of this, wizards and witches often do not learn how to thoroughly use and control their magic. Wandless magic, or magic without the aid of other magical cores, is quite difficult to learn, and not for everyone. The very reason the wand was created was to allow those with smaller magical cores to be able to perform magic. However, even with it's difficulties, being able to wandlessly cast a simple levitation charm can give the magic user a greater degree of understanding how the flow of magic is channeled through us._

_Wandless magic differs from magic casted from a wand in many aspects. One of the most drastic differences is that the magical signature of a wizard changes when he casts without a wand – this is because he is now channeling magic from his core differently, without the influence and help of the wand (for more on magical signatures, see page 139). The magic flows from all over the wizard's body in a hazy mist, and it is up to the wizard to direct the magic to become concentrated and usable. The result is that the evident traces of magic become easily assimilated into the surroundings, as it reverts to its former misty nature. _

_Note that the magic casted is just as permanent as any casted by a wand, but the tell-tale trace of magic that is left by a wand does not appear with wandless magic. This makes wandless magic extremely hard to detect by conventional means, including by magic-revealing spells as well as the magical detection maps employed by most ministries. _

Harry grinned. This was exactly what he needed.

_Wandless magic, however, is rather difficult to control, which makes performing spells very hard, and only possible by much practice. Once mastered, it uses the same amount of magic from the wizard's magical core, but can allow for much more power and depth to be used in the spell. It is difficult to achieve the same depth of power with a wand, since the magical power must also flow through the core of the wand, narrowing the channel of magic._

_Many of the powerful magics of the ancient world were performed by those without a supplemental magical conduit. It is said that Merlin casted all of his spells wandlessly, or with a simple oak staff. There have been recorded instances of the great priestesses of Japan defeating evil demons with ordinary bows and arrows to channel their magic and healing others with their hands, as well as the old wizards of Greece and Rome dueling both wandlessly and wordlessly. _

_Instances of great feats of magic have declined in both number and the degree of complexity exhibited since the ancient times. Whether this is due to the introduction of wands, we can only theorize. _

The next page was a guide on how to attempt the Levitation Charm wandlessly. It began by stating that wandless magic improved skill and control of magic, and let the user become more powerful by accessing more of their magical core. There was a warning that many people would not be able to succeed, but those who did would start their path to better understanding their own magic.

The first step was to cast a spell, any spell, and to concentrate on the feeling of magic surging through the body.

Harry sighed. _Guess I'll be skipping that step. _

Next, the book instructed the wizard or witch to mediate, and attempt to recall memory of the feeling of magic going throughout the body.

Harry sat on the bed, and tried to recall a time when he could really feel the magic. He tried remembering the feeling as he summoned his Firebolt , to go against the Hungarian Horntail, but all he could really recall was the desperation.

He decided on the memory of him casting his Patronus against all the Dementors during third year. He closed his eyes, remembering the brilliant wave of warmth that had filled his body, the light as the mist from his wand formed into a stag, and the exhilaration as the stag ran around, charging the Dementors, daring them to enter its light.

The Dementors moved back, parting, afraid of the brilliant, shining light. Of the pure, blue white magic, solidified into the form of a enormous stag.

The sharp determination in his voice as he shouted the words _Expecto Patronum. _The feeling as the magic blossomed inside him, rushing out.

He could feel the magic pouring off his body.

He could feel the magic pouring off his body.

_He could feel the magic pouring off his body. _

Quickly, on impulse, Harry whispered the words _Wingardium Leviosa, _as he looked directly at a pen on the floor.

Nothing happened.

"_Wingardium Leviosa!_"

Still nothing.

He was sweating, but ignored it. Harry took a deep breath, recalled memory of the patronus, felt the magic surging within. He banished the doubt inside his mind away.

He felt the magic, burning inside him. He looked at the pen, and willed it, desperately willed it, to levitate.

The pen gave a tiny wiggle, one so small that if Harry hadn't been staring at it with a fierce intensity he wouldn't have noticed it.

_Okay, I can do this,_ Harry thought with renewed vigor, _It's probably a harder for me since I can't actually use my wand to really get the feeling of magic. I have to make do with memories. But I'm getting somewhere._

On his eighteenth attempt, the pen started to roll over.

On the twenty-ninth, the pen began to shake.

On the thirty-second attempt, the pen hovered half a centimeter above the floor, which prompted five minutes of Harry jumping on his bed and shouting "YES!"

By the sixtieth attempt (or was it sixty-first? He was losing count.), the pen was hovering a meter above the ground.

Around an hour later, Harry could make the pen dance. The sun starting to set, and he was covered in sweat, head to toe. He felt exhilarated, tired, and accomplished, like he had just played a Quidditch match.

Harry smiled widely. _I can do this!_ With that, he quickly went to take a shower.

It would only be until the next morning that Harry would realize he had forgotten to say the words after his second attempt to levitate the pen.

#####

Review please!


	6. Chapter 6

If you want to know the current status/updates of this story, check out my profile page, which will be updated every time I work on this story.

Thanks to everyone who reviews – it really means a lot to me!

**EDIT: I apologize if some of you got alerts that I uploaded a new chapter. I've been fixing some mistakes in the past chapters and accidentally uploaded something in the wrong spot. I apologize for the false alarm, but rest assured, a new chapter is being churned out.**

#####

Kagome ran her fingers through Shippo's soft orange hair and watched through the window as the world passed beneath her. He was sleeping peacefully in her lap. The fox demon had shapeshifted to the little fox kit form after he placed some spells to make sure no one else noticed. The entire cabin area was dark, and most of the other passengers were sleeping too.

The pair had spent much of the plane ride talking. Shippo had explained some of the adventures he had over the centuries that had passed. He was a world traveler, and never stayed in one place for too long. As a general rule, he tried not to stay anywhere for more than thirty years. After ten or fifteen years, it would become necessary to modify his concealment charms to make him look older. Recasting heavy concealment charms everyday was both annoying and tiring. Wizards would just use light glamour charms, but demons like Shippo had to mask their heavy magical aura, their demonic body parts, and also their general appearance. The more the intended appearance deviated from the actual appearance, the more power the charms drew.

As a fox demon, however, Shippo could just shape shift into an older version of himself, which had helped him to be able to prolong his stays – but it was also important for him to not shape shift into the same being too often, since kitsune could get stuck in a shape for a while if they were too familiar with the shape. It helped that Shippo mainly lived in among other wizards and witches – magical beings aged more slowly – but even wizards would get suspicious if one's appearance didn't age at all in twenty years.

And so, Shippo continued to travel around the globe. Kagome thought it was sad that he always had to leave the places he had come to know.

Kagome had inquired why he did not live with other demons. With a sad smile, Shippo had told her that demons lived in families or clans. Family ties were extremely important. Shippo was an orphan who had not had any relatives left to take him in. He had been offered to join a kitsune clan or two, but had declined since he knew that if he had joined, there would be arguments between the family members over where he stood in the hierarchy, as well as the fact that many would not accept an outsider.

At this point, Kagome had given Shippo a big hug, and reminded him that they would always be family. Shippo had smiled, and hugged her back, before they continued onto other topics.

She had learned that the fox demon was quite scholarly – Shippo had books published in Japanese, Chinese, English, French, and German. The books were very thorough and based on research he had conducted. He was somewhat of an expert on wizarding magic in the demon world, and not far from an expert on demon magic too. Sometimes, demon families hired him to teach their children how to use wizarding magic. Shippo had said while demon magic was very strong and powerful, wizarding magic was much more practical to use and learn.

She smiled. The young fox kit who started out with crayon scribbles was now writing books. She felt so proud of Shippo. He had grown in more ways than she could imagine. They had switched roles – now he was here, guiding her.

Kagome had asked him about Hogwarts. Unfortunately, Shippo had never been there before, although he was quite familiar with Wizarding Britain. He told her about what little he did know about Hogwarts – it was first through seventh year, with four 'houses' into which students were sorted, on the edge of it's grounds laid the Forbidden Forest, which had one of the largest Acromantula colonies in Europe, and the lake on the Hogwarts grounds contained the only freshwater giant squid in the world.

Shippo didn't know much about the conflicts in Britain that Dumbledore had mentioned.

"From what he said, it sounded like it just started recently," Shippo had said, "And I haven't been to for a couple years." But, he had known about the wizarding war that had occurred about a decade and a half ago, and told Kagome about it.

"I wasn't there at the time, but I heard a lot about it, from the news," Shippo had informed her, "There was a Dark Lord named Voldemort, and he had followers named the Death Eaters. They went around attacking, torturing, and killing people in the name of pureblood supremacy. It was a very dark time for Wizarding Europe, especially Britain." Kagome shivered. She hated thinking about war.

"What's does 'pureblood' mean?" Kagome had asked.

"Oh, I forgot that you didn't know," Shippo had said, looking a little surprised, "A pureblood is a wizard or witch who has had all magical ancestry. Their parents are also purebloods, and so on and so forth. Muggle-borns are people who are magical but had non-magical parents. Sometimes wizards and witches look down on Muggle-borns, and call them 'mudbloods', because they think their blood isn't pure enough. This prejudice is more common in countries that have had a long magical history."

"Oh," Kagome had said, frowning. More prejudice. It sounded a little like the prejudice against hanyous in the feudal era.

"It's sort of the typical clash in any society," Shippo had said, going into lecture mode, "The purebloods are very traditional and hierarchal, and muggle-borns tend to criticize what they see old fashioned and medieval. The traditionalists get offended and think that muggle-borns don't respect enough of the old magic, and muggle-borns don't understand when the traditionalists don't seem to want progress."

"Ah," Kagome had said, "So what would I be? My family is descended from a long line of monks and priestesses, but I don't know if they were magical. My mom and grandpa aren't magical either."

"What about your father?" Shippo had asked curiously. She hadn't really ever mentioned him.

"No, he wasn't magical either." Kagome had said, frowning, "He died shortly after Souta was born, and if he was a wizard, then he never did any magic around the rest of us."

"Hmm...," Shippo had said, "You most likely have at least some magical ancestry since monks and priestesses did tend to be magical, but I don't think it really matters. Japan isn't quite so big on the pureblood thing as Europe tends to be. Although Japan's has had a long magical history, much of it was spent fighting against demons, so it never really mattered as long as you could fight. Plus, almost all witches and wizards back then usually became priestesses and monks, and they're generally a peaceful, accepting lot. Well, unless you were a demon."

"Oh, alright," she had said. Shippo had a point. To most people, she would be a Japanese witch, and being from another country would distract people who cared from the blood thing.

She frowned at the thought of more bigoted people. One of the things that had annoyed her most about the Feudal Era was how everyone was so judgmental about demons.

_Oh well. I'll deal with them when I get there._ Kagome thought as she closed her eyes.

####

It was nine o'clock in the morning when they landed in London. A tired Kagome stepped of the plane, with Shippo right behind her. They quickly walked through the large airport and picked up their bags.

The two got onto a taxi, and Shippo gave the driver directions in English.

The fox demon rummaged through his messenger bag, looking for something. Eventually, he pulled out a small piece of parchment.

"Dumbledore sent this to me right before we left," Shippo explained in Japanese, so the muggle taxi driver wouldn't overhear, "It has instructions for that translating spell he was talking about. I'll cast it on you when we get to Diagon Alley. He said that he'll meet us at the end of the day to take you to where you'll be staying for the summer."

"Alright," Kagome nodded, "Is Diagon Alley where I'm going to get all my witch stuff?"

"Yes," Shippo said, "It's a lot different from Magical Tokyo. Diagon Alley's not in the sky, but I think you'll like it too."

Soon, the cab dropped them off on a rather normal looking English street, with ordinary people walking by the storefronts. Shippo lead her to a dingy-looking pub, which bore a sign with it's name – the Leaky Cauldron. She noticed that nobody else seemed to notice the pub – those passing by automatically looked elsewhere. Inside, a couple customers sat eating a late breakfast and reading newspapers. It was largely empty at the moment.

An old man, presumably the owner of the place, gave a friendly nod to the two of them. Shippo pulled out a seat at one of the tables, and Kagome did the same, setting Tomomi's cage next to her chair. The bird peered curiously around at her new surroundings.

"Let's get something to drink, and a newspaper," Shippo said, "Then we'll sort out that translation spell, and go shopping."

Shippo ordered two Butterbeers and a copy of the _Daily Prophet_. Kagome sipped the sweet drink, as Shippo scanned through the newspaper. He finally threw the paper down in ill-concealed disgust.

"What did it say?" she asked.

"Nothing pertaining to the conflict Dumbledore mentioned. They often make fun of him, however. I forgot what trash British tabloids are."

He then pulled the wrinkled piece of parchment out of his coat pocket, smoothing it out on the table. The fox demon quickly read the scrolling black letters written, and then took out his wand.

"Alright, here's the spell," Shippo said. Kagome nodded to show that she was ready, and a purple colored light shot out to her, covering her body, and then fading.

"Do you understand me?" the fox demon-wizard asked in English.

"Yes, I do," Kagome said, surprised as her mouth formed the words. The English words were foreign to her lips, but somehow, she was speaking the language!

"Perfect," Shippo said, pleased. He shrunk their bags so they could carry them in their pockets, and paid for the drinks and paper. Kagome followed Shippo as he exited out the pub from a different door from where they came in, and came to a brick wall.

There, Kagome let Tomomi out of her cage. The bird had been cooped up for a long time. Tomomi stretched out her legs, nodded her head when Kagome told her when to return, and then gracefully took off into the skies.

The teenage girl looked at Shippo in puzzlement when he made no move to leave the small dirty alley, until he tapped the bricks in the correct order and the wall parted.

Kagome watched in amazement as the bricks shifted and turned, revealing a bustling cobblestone street. Almost everyone wore robes, along with pointy hats. A couple of old witches stood haggling over prices at one of the stands. There were darker figures, who walked around in cloaks covering their faces, even though the weather didn't call for them. Cheerful mothers and fathers prodded their children along from one shop to the next. One lady even had a stuffed vulture on the top of her hat!

The stores themselves were even more fascinating. One shop sold various types of cauldrons. An apothecary harked different herbs, along with animal claws, unicorn hair and smelly-looking powders. Dozens of owls stared out from the windowpanes of with a hanging sign saying 'Eyelops Owl Emporium'. They even passed a shop that sold broomsticks, specially made for flying.

"We'll stop at these shops later to get all your supplies, but first we need to get your money changed at the bank," Shippo said as they walked. Kagome nodded, taking in all the different sights. It was all so foreign to her – there was so much magic, much like Magical Tokyo, but now all so very English.

They arrived at an imposing white marble building with white columns and the words _Gringotts Bank_ inscribed in gold above them. It towered over the other shops on the street, and had absurdly large doors, especially next to the small wrinkled creatures who bore a resemblance to Jaken. Shippo nodded to them as they passed through the doors, and Kagome followed suit.

"Those are goblins," Shippo said to Kagome, "They run the bank. It's very safe." The teenage girl's eyes widened as she took in the all the goblins sitting at various desks in the room.

A grouchy goblin changed Kagome's yen to shining gold, silver, and bronze coins. Another goblin, one slightly taller, took the two to Shippo's vault. Kagome shrieked and laughed on the cart ride, and Shippo grinned as she held onto him. He could swear that even the corner of the goblin's mouth twitched at the sound of the girl's laughter.

"That was so much fun!" Kagome said, laughing, "Just like a roller coaster!"

The three got off the cart, and watched as the goblin unlocked the vault with Shippo's key. Inside was a small room, where a large pile of mostly gold coins sat, along with stacks of books and two old trunks. Shippo stepped inside, filled up a sack with coins, and then rifled through the trunks, taking out two cloaks and some robes, before letting the goblin shut and lock the vault.

"I kept some of my stuff from the previous times I've been in Britain in the vault," Shippo explained, "So I don't have to lug it to wherever else I'm going. They don't wear robes anywhere else besides Europe, so I decided not to bother."

The cart ride back was just as exhilarating. Soon, they exited the bank and found themselves looking carefully at Kagome's list of items for Hogwarts. Dumbledore had also given her book lists for the first five years, for her summer lessons. He had recommend she buy some of the books, and borrow the rest from those she would be staying with.

Flourish & Blott's was the first stop. There, Kagome bought her schoolbooks, as well as a stock of parchment, quills, and ink. She look forward to learning how to use the quills – it had been rather fun practicing with Miroku's brush and ink in the Feudal Era, and she had found the flowing black medium to be much more graceful-looking then her pencils and pens.

Next came the Potions supplies. She acquired a standard black cauldron that was charmed Unbreakable (Shippo had insisted), a set of crystal phials, as well as several interesting potion ingredients. They had spent quite a while in there, while Kagome asked endless questions about the creatures that the ingredients came from.

"Unicorns exist? Wait, what's a thestral? Are billywigs creatures or plants?"

Soon, (_but not soon enough_, Shippo thought) lunchtime came around, and the pair sat down at a little cafe with brightly colored umbrellas. They both ordered the famed English fish and chips, and sat, chatting about inconsequential things. It was the happiest and most relaxed Kagome had felt in months.

She enjoyed it all – they were just two friends, like any other, spending a perfectly normal day in an absolutely magical world.

After lunch, Kagome obtained a set of brass scales, and an copper-coloured telescope that had many lenses. All that was left to buy was a wand and robes.

They entered a clothing shop with the words Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions proudly emblazoned on a hanging banner. Inside, there was a long line of customers. A couple of young witches giggled excitedly as they talked about colors and trims. Shippo sighed at the long line of customers. He really did not care for shopping for clothes, and it looked like the combined waiting and fitting time would be over an hour.

"Kagome, I hope you don't mind, but while you wait and get fitted for robes, I need to go somewhere," Shippo said.

"Escaping already?" Kagome teased, "Are you sure you don't want to help me find the perfect robe colour?" She laughed at the expression on his face – Souta sported a similar one whenever she and her mom went shopping and dragged him along. Shippo relaxed and chuckled when he realized what his own expression had looked like.

"I'll just be going to Obscurus Books – they're my publishers, and I need to talk with my editor about a couple things. It's right down the street, next to the Apothecary. Is that alright with you?" Shippo asked, taking the last question on with some uncertainty. He frowned, lines appearing on his forehead. Yes, Kagome was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, but they were in a different country...

"That's fine Shippo, I can take care of myself," she said, bemused, "I'll see you later." Shippo smiled. Kagome was fearless as always. He gave her a hug, and then left the store. Some of the dithering girls in the store giggled when Shippo passed, and then shot jealous looks at Kagome.

And with that began a long wait. Kagome idly listened to the girls in front of her. They were talking about 'Quidditch stars', 'Witch Weekly' (some sort of magazine, she guessed), and buying robes with 'slimming charms' on them.

The shop was filled with robes, robes, and more robes. Signs flashed messages – 'All robes self-ironing and repairing!', 'Lengthening charms available!' and 'New spangled and color-changing robes!'.

After twenty minutes, it was Kagome's turn. The shop assistant was relieved to find she only needed basic black Hogwarts robes, without any special orders for trims, colours, charms, or accessories that the previous witches had demanded.

Madam Malkins herself ushered Kagome into an area surrounded by swatches of robe material, where a few other customers were being fitted. A yellow tape measure hovered and flickered around, measuring her waist, height, wrists and more. Kagome wondered how the witch knew the measurements that were taken without even watching the tape measure.

"Grown out of your old school robes, my dear?" Madame Malkins asked as she carried out a stack of black robes.

"Oh no," Kagome said as she lifted her arms for the measuring tape, "I'm new."

"Awfully grown for a first year," Madame Malkins said doubtfully. Kagome blushed. True, she no longer had the body a twenty-year-old adult, but by no means did she look eleven years old.

"No no," Kagome hastened to explain, "I'm fifteen. I'm transferring to Hogwarts." By this point, many of the shop assistants and customers were beginning to look curiously at her. There were raised eyebrows at her response. Madame Malkins looked at her with surprise.

"I've never heard of a transfer to Hogwarts," the witch being fitted next to her said. The others nodded, agreeing. Clearly, this was rather unorthodox.

Kagome shrugged, not knowing what to say. It probably was rather odd, but she really didn't have much of an explanation for it all.

"Where are you transferring from?" the curious witch asked. Her eyes lingered on Kagome's clothes – a long-sleeved shirt and jeans, which were painfully out of place among the long robes that everyone else seemed to be wearing.

"Er, the Shikon Light Institute," Kagome lied. She had the feeling that if she said she had not known magic had existed (well, at least in this era), she would attract even more attention. Kagome felt uneasy about their curious stares for some reason.

Thankfully, the robes were done, and Kagome happily paid for them, away from the questions. Her mood immediately improved as she skipped out of the store, and saw the an ice cream parlor across from it. _Hmm, Shippo and I should go try out some ice cream!_

She walked quickly in excitement at that thought, not quite looking where she was going.

And so, Kagome bumped into something quite hard and human and approaching from the very fast from the opposite direction. She teetered awkwardly on one leg, gasping in pain as she hit head onto a bony shoulder, and reached for something, anything, to hold her upright. She grabbed a fistful of material, attempting to pull her self up, and there was a loud ripping sound as the fabric tore.

Unfortunately, it turned out to be the rather expensive cloak of an extremely irritated Draco Malfoy.

#####

Draco Malfoy was having a terrible day. Actually, no – make that a terrible summer.

The Dark Lord was back, and although Draco had first rejoiced like any pureblood Dark wizard, what he had thought was going to be a glorious awakening of power for the Malfoy line had so far not occurred. In fact, his father Lucius Malfoy was more irritable than ever, and constantly stressed and agitated.

Draco himself had only seen the Dark Lord twice – once, near the beginning of summer,, and the second time, just two days ago. At first, when he had seen the man, he had been shocked and repulsed – unnaturally tall and white-skinned, hairless all over and snakelike, with two dark slits for noses and eyes the color of red blood, there stood the Dark Lord in the midst of a celebration of his revival.

He was _ugly_ and _unnatural._

Draco watched as his always proud and powerful father crumple in servitude to the Dark Lord.

Draco watched as three muggles were tortured for sport, flinching as their screams echoed through the night.

Draco watched as his father and his friends' fathers cruelly torture the muggles, blood splashing onto the dirt.

No, it had not been at all what Draco had imagined. The crazed look in Aunt Bellatrix's eye, the shock as the Dark Lord _crucio'ed_ his own followers, the revulsion welling up in his throat as the flesh of the muggles was slashed and torn into long after they stopped breathing – it had all shattered many illusions.

The second time was far more recent and terrifying. It had been just two days ago, when he found himself once again among the Dark Lord and his followers.

He had stared with betrayal at the blond-haired man he called Father kneel before the Dark Lord and offer up his own son to the Dark Lord's will.

And the Dark Lord sat on his throne, idly twirling his wand. His malevolent red eyes seemed to mock Draco. The reality of this man's cruelty finally dawned upon him as Draco stood at his mercy.

This man could kill him, could torture him, could make him do horrible things. Just one whispered spell, like so many that had already been cast that night, could send him to his blue-gray eyes of the Malfoy heir had darted around like mad, looking for anything, an opening in the closed ranks of Death Eaters encircling them. He had hoped against all hope that someone, anyone, would take away from this insane thing.

But no one did anything. And so, a shaky Draco Malfoy had no choice but fight back his own hoarse screams as Voldemort emblazoned the Dark Mark onto the white flesh of his arm. He eventually passed out from the pain.

Yesterday, the blond teenager awoke in Malfoy Manor thinking, with relief, that it was all just a dream. He was in his own bed, under the covers, sleeping in as usual. Everything was perfectly normal, and he was not a Death Eater.

But then with horror, he had brushed up against ugly raised Dark Mark on his arm. Pushing his sleeve up, he looked with disbelief at the symbol, which seemed to be pulsing slightly.

It felt disgusting, like it was infecting him slowly with poison.

He stalked through the house in agitation, mixed with fear and terror. Thankfully, his parents had left Malfoy Manor earlier. Draco didn't know what he would've done if he had seen his father.

Finally, Draco forced himself to sit down and think.

"It's not so bad," Draco said aloud to himself, "Father is a Death Eater." And indeed, Lucius Malfoy was. The younger Malfoy had always looked up to his father. His loyalty to the Dark Lord and status as a Death Eater had never bothered him before – hell, it had made him proud. He had bragged about it to his friends, alluded to it to see the fear in his enemies' eyes.

So why did Draco feel like throwing up just thinking about the Dark Mark on his own arm?

The grim reality of it all made him feel revulsion. This wasn't the way he had imagined it. He had grown up, knowing that he would most likely become a Death Eater, just like his father.

He had imagined becoming part of the ranks, of other like-minded wizards with pride and dignity, fighting for what they believed in. An formidable force, keeping the culture of the Wizarding World alive, and emerging as true victors in the end.

Instead, he discovered an army of half-crazed, leering witches and wizards. They were frightened and submissive in front of the Dark Lord, flinching at each twirl of his wand and begging to kiss his feet. So many were broken beyond repair, cackling with mad joy as they tore through their victims.

_They were so dirty, so filthy, so tainted by insanity, fear, and cruelty. Normal people can't even look at them, can't stomach their disgust._

How could he become one of them? For all the dirty words he had spat at Muggle-borns at Hogwarts, they had just been _words_. For all his malice and venom; just a spoiled boy's _swaggering_ and _boasting._ He could not have imagined that it would all lead to this. Could he kill? Could he look into their eyes, point his wand and say those words?

_Yes, yes, you're filthy, you've come this far, and this is all you will ever be,_ a voice whispered inside his head.

_You're just like them. Soon, the blood will stain your hands, and you live a life of obeying in terror, powerless and nothing more than dirt, craving the moments when you kill, for those will be the only time you have power. You will extinguish souls again and again, until you can no longer be called human, for you will belong to nothing but the lowest form of creature on earth, mucking around in grime and blood._

_No, no, nonono,_ Draco cried within his head. It couldn't be.

"No," he said, his voice weak, "I'm not a monster. I'm not like them."

_But soon you will be, _the voice whispered, _look at everything you've done in your life. You have hurt others, sabotaged others, and more. Already you are so close, Draco. _

_Accept yourself for the ugly monster you are._

Chaos reigned in his mind, and with that he took off. With just his cloak and wand, he Floo'ed at Diagon Alley, mind reeling in confusion and struggling for normalcy. He needed distraction.

Draco walked up the the street, and for the first time in his life, paid attention to others. There was a family, one with two children, a boy and a girl, running around the street. The father swung the little girl into his arms, and she giggled as he bounced her up and down. Draco felt a twinge of jealousy, but looked away before he could dwell upon it.

He allowed his usual sneer to appear on his face, and pulled up the hood of his cloak. He barely glanced at the racing brooms on display at Quality Quidditch Supplies. Not this summer. Any other summer, and he would have been pressed up against the window, boasting to his friends about how his father would buy him the best broom. Now however, he felt there were more important things than shiny brooms.

_Things I no longer have..._

He walked aimlessly, but it did not bring the distraction that he thought it would've. Instead, Draco felt paranoid. He panicked just a little every time someone looked him in the eye, or walked too close. It felt like they were all looking at him, and knew exactly what he was. Any second now, someone would come along and push his sleeve up, revealing the hideous mark on his arm.

They knew. They all knew. But how could they tell? In the face of every witch and wizard, Draco could feel something accusatory, aimed at him.

He quickened his pace.

Any minute now, they would expose him.

Faster and faster, Draco stalked down the road. His sneer was right in place, but if anyone looked closely, they could see his eyes were darting around in fear.

And suddenly, Draco crashed into another person. An arm tugged on his cloak, and Draco drew his arm quickly back, afraid.

_This is it. They've finally caught up with me._

And someone grabbed his cloak, pulling hard, causing a loud ripping sound.

Draco snarled, pushing the body away. He needed to get away. He wasn't going to Azkaban!

"Ouch..." a girl's voice moaned in pain. Draco blinked. A girl was sitting on the ground, holding her head with one hand, and a shopping bag in her other arm. He had nearly thrown her onto the ground in his haze of paranoia.

It was just some _random girl_. There was nobody chasing him, no Auror trying to expose him as a Death Eater. Just an Asian girl who was shopping and crashed into him.

The girl awkwardly stood up, and handed him his ruined cloak. Draco stared at it. The fear and paranoia had gone away, but the anger had arrived. A twinge of annoyance snapped inside him.

The idea that this girl had scared him so much for those moments stung, and now his favorite cloak was ruined too. And by the looks of it, the girl was probably a Mudblood, with those muggle clothes.

"Watch where you're going!" Draco snarled, glaring at the girl.

"No, you watch where you're going!" she snapped back. Yes, she had crashed into him, and she hadn't been watching where she was going, but this blond boy had pushed her back down! Kagome had been about to apologize, but this boy was_ rude!_

Draco's eyes narrowed at this girl's impudence. A rush of anger came through his mind. How dare this girl speak like that to him! He had thought he had been caught as a Death Eater. He would show this girl exactly why she should be scared of him!

And, she would provide such a convenient outlet for all the anger and resentment he had bottled up over the summer. Oh yes, this girl would be _sorry._

Quickly, Draco casted a Notice-Me-Not spell on the both of them. The Ministry wouldn't come after underaged magic in Diagon Alley – there were simply too many possible suspects, with all the people shopping. They were near a small alleyway between two stores. Perfect.

He shoved the girl into the alley between two stores, up against the wall.

Kagome was starting to get a little scared as the boy drew closer, holding his wand. Her eyes widened as the teenage boy chuckled softly.

_Oh yes, this girl is definitely a Mudblood. She hasn't even drawn her wand!_

"Do you know who I am?" he hissed, pinning her against the wall.

"No," she said, stubbornly, raising her head to stare back at him.

"Well, well... So many options, little Mudblood... You ripped my favorite cloak, and now you have to pay," he said, with malice in his voice.

Kagome couldn't help but noticed that his voice was going a little higher. His pupils were dilated, and he almost looked... crazed. She pushed back the fear of this English boy who was accosting her, and examined him with clear eyes. Something was off...

She narrowed her eyes, and looked hard.

There it was. The blond teenager had a light green aura, with what looked like sickly black and gray strands entangled throughout. She could see the aura was whirling around in danger and fear.

This boy... Something was corrupting him. He wasn't in his right mind.

"I'm going kill you, but before that, I'll have a little fun..." he said with an evil smile, wanting to crush the stubbornness in her eyes. She swallowed hard as he used his wand to lift her bangs.

"No, I don't think you would," she breathed. This boy, something was infecting him.

"What?" Draco said, caught off guard by her peculiar words. This girl presumed to know him?

_How could she not understand that he had already fallen?_

"How could you know?" he spat angrily, gripping her shoulder hard. The wand trembled in his other hand.

"Because I can tell," Kagome said, and then smiled softly right at the teenager who was looming over her. With all her strength, she kicked him right in the groin. As Draco doubled over in pain, she grabbed his arm, and pushed up the sleeve. There it was, the source of the black threads in his aura, a snake and skull scarred tattoo.

Using both hands, she let the familiar rush of power flow through them, and into the mark. She could see the poisonous black strands crackling and sizzling as the purity of her magic fought. Kagome breathed heavily as she sent her magic deeper and deeper to eradicate the darkness within the boy.

Draco was unable to move, white flashing through his vision as the girl grabbed hard onto his arm. It was so painful, like something was being burnt out of his body. He would've screamed if he could have opened his mouth. The pain overwhelmed him, and Draco passed out, right on top of Kagome.

#####

Review!


	7. Chapter 7

Wow, thanks everyone for the wonderful reviews! I didn't have enough time to be able to reply to most of them this time around, but rest assured, I read every word. You guys have no idea how much I appreciate it, especially for those of you who took the time to write long reviews. I'm so glad that everyone's enjoying the story so far!

As always, to keep things short, extended notes/comments/updates on the story from me are on my profile.

Enjoy!

#####

Kagome fell down clumsily on the ground as the blond-haired boy came crashing down on her. Her heart was pounding from exerting herself on the purification. The boy's head laid limply face-down on her shoulder. She tried to push the teenager off her, but found that her arms wouldn't cooperate.

Gods, purifying that evil tattoo thing had taken a lot out of her. She was exhausted. Kagome frowned. Why was some teenager walking around with such dark magic on his arm? And the tattoo had been more than a little creepy, even for the skulls and chains that were considered 'cool' by some of her peers. She had gotten a quick glimpse of it before she had purified the hell out of the guy – a skull with a curing snake slithering out of its mouth, posed to strike.

In retrospect, she thought, it was good that he had casted the 'Notice-Me-Not' spell, even if he had bad intentions. Nobody had noticed when she had burned out the darkness in his arm.

Kagome allowed herself to feel a little self-satisfied for a moment, since the blond-haired boy had gotten what he deserved for attempting to assault her. Then, she struggled to push the offending boy off her.

"Gods, this guy is heavy," she grumbled to herself.

####

Draco groaned as his eyes slid open. It felt like a ton of bricks had hit him. Strangely, when he looked around, it was not a green and cream white bedroom that greeted him, but an alley with a couple of mouldering boxes. He was propped up against a brick wall, sitting on the ground. His cloak was covering his body.

Then, it all came back. An Asian girl, with clear blue eyes, snapping back at him after a collision. Overwhelming anger, as he pushed her hard into the brick alley wall. A surprising amount of teeth-grinding pain as she delivered a kick, and then more pain, but of the paralyzing, white-hot variety as fingers dug into his arm.

Draco bolted up straight. He had apparently passed out from the pain. This Mudblood had somehow beaten him! A mere girl, with magic through her bare hands!

The Dark Lord would be furious. The pressure she had applied on the Dark Mark would most certainly be interpreted as a call to both the Dark Lord and the rest of the Death Eaters. Hands shaking, Draco pushed up the sleeve on his arm, expecting the Dark Mark to be pulsing in rage at the contact with magic. They would _kill him_ for such a transgression, for a new member like him presuming to call the rest of them.

Instead, there was nothing on his arm but bare skin. For several moments, Draco could not quite comprehend what had happened.

He only blinked, not quite understanding.

_Nothing was there. _No sinister snake and skull marred his arm.

His fingers brushed over the unharmed pale skin, and felt no inflamed tattoo. Nothing. If it had been a simple glamour, he would have felt the raised mark beneath the appearance.

For one of the first times in his life, Draco Malfoy was shocked speechless.

The Dark Mark was _permanent_. It was well known that someone who took the mark could never get rid of it. The dark magic was too strong, and became too tightly intertwined with one's own magic. Trying to erase the mark from a body basically amounted to amputation of the arm.

Being a Death Eater was for _life. _A former Death Eater was a _dead Death Eater._

And yet, here he sat, with an unblemished forearm, free of the Dark Mark. Draco stared at his arm numbly, not quite believing the sight before him.

He was free.

He was free.

_He was free._

It was after several minutes before Draco finally noticed something sitting on the ground in front of him. A package, wrapped in brown paper and a note stuck to the top of it.

_I'm sorry about the cloak. _

It was unsigned, but Draco could tell it was from that girl. He unfolded the material, and found a plain green cloak. Far inferior in quality to his favorite emerald cloak that she had ripped – but, for some reason, Draco couldn't have care less.

A feeling of hope welled up in Draco's throat. Somehow, a random girl whom he had insulted and cornered had erased his Dark Mark completely. He fervently hoped this was not all just a dream.

This was his second chance.

No longer a slave. The Dark Lord whispered promises of power, but Draco had seen what the Death Eaters had become. Men such as his father, once powerful and prideful, becoming sniveling cowards, kneeling before Dark Lord like scared, obedient slaves.

_It's not too late. I can turn back, change, and be something else. My father's fate shall not be mine._

Draco had plans to make, to conceal the disappearance of the mark from other Death Eaters, his family, and the Dark Lord. He had to change, to stop himself from becoming something he now knew he would regret. It would be a hard summer, and he would have to make difficult decisions.

But, right now, all Draco could feel was euphoria. _Free._

Draco tipped his head back, and smiled toward the sky, breathing in and out. Then, pulling the green cloak over him, he left the alley.

From across the street, a fox demon smiled to the girl setting next to him.

####

"Well, that went well," Shippo mused, as he lazily ate another spoonful of ice cream, "Did you see his smile?"

"Yup," Kagome said, letting out a sigh of relief. Good. Whatever it was that she had purified out of him had not been wanted.

The pair were at the ice cream parlor, across from where Kagome had been assaulted by the teenager. They had been watching him closely, to see how he would react. The blond boy's expression went through a range of emotions: first confusion, then anger, shock, and finally, a faintly hopeful smile.

After Kagome had propped Draco leaning against the wall, she had quickly fetched Shippo. At first, the fox demon had only muttered angrily about sending the blond-haired ponce to something called 'Azkaban', but eventually, after some argument, he had acquiesced to letting the boy go. After all, Kagome argued, the boy had not seemed to be in the right mind, and teenagers made mistakes. And Shippo only knew too well how people could be possessed or influenced by magic, since it had happened on many an occasion in the feudal era.

Shippo had known that the tattoo was something called a 'Dark Mark', and those who were on the so-called 'Dark Lord's' side all sported the mark on their arm. The symbol would also appear over places where Death Eaters had attacked. Kagome had shivered at this tidbit of information. _Attacked – _like the villages Naraku had slaughtered and the scared people he had took hostage.

It scared her – she had thought that sort of violence and terror was long gone from the modern world, but according to the headmaster, war would erupt in only a matter of time.

_How did that boy become a Death Eater?_ she thought. He had looked young – _well, probably the same age I am now_, Kagome corrected herself.

"Are you sure you want to go to Hogwarts?" Shippo asked worriedly, "I'm concerned with this whole Dark Lord thing. It's not to late to back out." Kagome pursed her lips, thinking. The two were silent as both contemplated the words.

"I want to learn magic," Kagome finally said, "And I'm already here. It'll do me some good to get away from home and make a clean break with what's in the past. I've made my choice, and I'm sticking to it."

Shippo nodded, accepting her decision. He wasn't at all offended by how Kagome wanted to make a clean break with the past that he had been apart of – the fox demon understood that she had been literally 'living in the past', and now, five hundred years later, it would be foolish of her to cling onto those memories without moving forward in her own life.

"Have you thought about how the you somehow became younger?" Shippo asked, pushing back his caramel-colored bangs. He had changed his disguise, from that of a Japanese man with long black hair and brown eyes which he had worn in Japan, to that of one more similar to his natural looks. Kagome preferred this orange-haired, green-eyed Shippo. It was basically how he looked naturally, toned down to human level, without the fur, tails, and claws.

"Yes, of course. At the time, I knew I would probably be sent back to the future, but I had no idea that four years of my life would be erased so completely. It's all so strange. I felt like I had gone crazy. Like I had woken up and found out that everything was just a dream," Kagome said with a sad smile.

"Do you have any idea why the jewel would send you back like this? What was the wish you made on it?"

_The jewel must have had a purpose, to send her back to this time,_ Shippo mused.

"I wished for everyone to be happy. I wanted the Shikon Jewel to undo all the pain it had caused," Kagome said softly.

Shippo blinked. It was said that only a pure, unselfish wish would cause the Shikon Jewel to disappear. Her wish could have easily been selfish, without the right intent.

She had wished for their happiness, which in her own heart, she must have known would be at the cost of her own. The implications were large. Her wish could've caused Inuyasha and Kikyo to stay together and love each other. Using the word 'undo' could have very well erased all of their memories of her and changed the past by simply taking Naraku out of the equation.

And she must've known this, for the wish to have succeeded. Kagome had been prepared to be forgotten and gone. She, in her mind, had not included herself in the wish for happiness. Shippo's eyes shone in admiration.

"I missed you and everyone else so much," Kagome continued, "But, it's going to be nice to go through these years with my family, and I'll know that they don't remember how much they worried the first time through. I'll be going to Hogwarts, but at least I'll be able to contact them. I can already tell I'll love magic."

Perhaps, because of Kagome's unselfish intent, the jewel had included her own happiness in the equation too.

####

In a fading, yellow-papered room, a boy sat under a dim light, whispering words into the air. He appeared to be staring intensely at the air around him, his voice chanting a spell over and over. Objects in the room quivered and trembled, and sometimes, a light mist appeared in front of the boy. But it appeared not to be what he was aiming for, as he let out a frustrated sigh.

Harry ran his hands through his messy black hair in exasperation. The past couple days had been rather humbling. At first, he had been elated by his early success at wandless magic – but now, it was looking as though it might have all been beginner's luck. Harry had been working on the Shield Charm for three days, and he hadn't achieved anything close to a success.

Instead of attempting the color changing spell the book had suggested next, Harry had decided to work on the Shield Charm. He had reasoned that color changing spells weren't going to help at all in a duel with Voldemort, while _Protego_ could save his life – and therefore, took priority. He had known it would be difficult, and had been prepared.

Of course, Harry had considered the fact that he was deviating from the book, but the color-changing spell was taught around the same time as the Shield Charm, and the two spells were roughly of equal difficulty. Both were taught early on in fifth year, and while Harry had learned the Shield Charm in preparation for Triwizard Tournament last year, he had never casted the color-changing spell.

The book instructions had emphasized 'feeling the magic rush through the body as one casted the spell with a wand', and Harry couldn't very well do that, with the law against underaged usage of magic. He reasoned that a spell that he knew how to cast with a wand would be easier wandlessly than a spell he had never casted before.

However, none of his well-thought out plan was working out. For the fiftieth time that day, Harry pushed his hands out in front of him, and said quite loudly, "_Protego!" _A tremor seemed to shake the room, and while couple of quills fell off his desk and Hedwig fluttered her wings nervously, nothing else happened.

Disgruntled, Harry stomped to his desk. There was only another hour until the Dursleys would arrive back. It was much harder to attempt wandless magic when they were home – while he had been practicing levitation a day ago, Petunia had become suspicious when the large thumps of falling textbooks could be heard downstairs. She had marched up to his room and wretched the door open, only to find Harry reading.

He had just managed to shove all his school textbooks under the bed (Petunia would have a fit if she thought he was learning magic in the house), and had been nonchalantly pretending to read the only non-magical book in the room – an old dictionary – when the door flew open.

Her eyes had swept suspiciously across the room, while Harry told some half-baked story about tripping and stubbing his toe on the desk. Thankfully, she accepted his words with a disapproving frown and a shrill reproach not to 'damage the floor with his freakish clumsiness'. Since then, he had been much more careful when the Dursleys were at home, which, unfortunately, was the majority of the week.

Harry had decided to cautiously practice wandless spells that he had already learned when the Dursleys were home. So far, that only included the levitation spell. Forays into new spells would only occur when they left the house, or, if he felt particularly daring, while his relatives were all on the ground floor of the house. It was just too risky otherwise.

Just another hour. Harry gritted his teeth. The past few hours had not resulted in anything, and he could not afford to waste the precious time.

Sighing, Harry flipped open _Concepts Behind Magic _open to the instructions for a wandless color-changing charm. Perhaps he was getting ahead of himself. The instructions for the shield charm had been nearly twenty spells after the levitation spell, so, perhaps, the ordering of the spells taught in the book had not been without reason.

The steps for the Color Changing Spell were nearly identical to those of the levitation spell, except with instructions at the end on how to change the object to a specific color. Feeling rather defeated, Harry decided to go along with the book, and grabbed a piece of parchment to experiment on.

He stared at the parchment, memorizing it's texture, color, and the way it lay on the desk with curling ends. Harry repeated the spell over and over in a low voice, willing it to become a blue color.

Twenty minutes later, Harry looked at the piece of parchment in surprise. The corners had turned a light blue.

_That was quicker than I had expected. _

After all that effort with the shield charm, which he had been sure of, Harry had expected the spell to take at least an hour's worth of practice. He took the sheet of parchment, examining it. Yes, the ends were definitely a shade of sky blue. Now he just had to turn the rest of the paper that color.

But, as Harry let go of the parchment to try again, something astonished him. As his fingertips let go of the parchment, blue spots had appeared, spreading as though it was watercolor paint. Fascinated, Harry touched his fingers to the parchment again, watching as the color spread forth from his hands. A swipe of his hands left a trails of blue, which slowly filled in the space left in between.

A grin lit up his features. Harry took his quill in hand, watching as it slowly turned a sunny yellow.

By midnight, much of his room resembled a kaleidoscope.

####

A bell tinkled faintly as Kagome and Shippo entered the dusty wand shop. Inside, there were shelves reaching up to the ceiling, filled with narrow boxes. An old man with pale eyes and wild white hair entered. His forehead was lined with wrinkles, and both his mustache and furrowed eyebrows matched the white of his hair.

"Hello, it seems I haven't met either of you before. I am Ollivander. Who is in need of a wand?" Shippo nodded towards Kagome. The old man inquired her name, and then set to work. Quickly, a measuring tape started to flick around her, measuring her wrist and arm. She wondered how the man knew the measurements when he had not even glanced at the measuring tape, but before she could ask, he had selected a wand for her to try.

"Willow wood and unicorn tail hair. Very springy. Hmm." She reached out to take the wand, but then Mr. Ollivander hesitated, and looked at her inquisitively, noticing her age.

"Did you break your last wand?" He asked, frowning severely at the thought.

"No, I've never had a wand before," Kagome said hurriedly.

"This is your our first wand?" he said, surprised.

"Yes," Kagome said, somewhat lamely. She was getting embarrassed – it was starting to become quite evident just how much she would stick out in the Wizarding World by entering it late. Shippo gave her an encouraging grin of support.

"Must be a late-bloomer... rare..." He muttered, turning back around to look at the shelves.

"Eight inches, oak wood and dragon heartstring. Stout and strong," Mr. Ollivander said, finally handing her a wand. Kagome hesitantly gave it a swish, and jumped as a wooden stool in the corner splintered into pieces onto the floor.

"I'm so sorry!" she apologized, eyes wide. Shippo chuckled and pulled out his wand, and with a '_Reparo'_, the stool was back into one piece.

"It's quite alright," the white-haired wizard murmured, scanning the shelves.

"Ten inches, hazel and phoenix feather. Quick and light," the old man said, placing another wand into her hands. But before she could even give it a wave, he had plucked it out of her fingertips.

"No, no, not quite right... Try this one. Holly and dragon heartstring, nine and a half inches. Powerful, especially for charms." The explosion that followed resembled fireworks gone wrong. After Shippo managed to vanish all the soot, Kagome swished some more wands.

She was beginning to feel quite discouraged. Some wands had done nothing, others had cracked shelves and tipped over piles of boxes of wands, and still others made loud explosions. The miko was starting to flinch every time she took a wand in her hand.

Mr. Ollivander, however, was now quite fidgety, and almost seemed _excited._

"Rosewood and the hair from the mane of a unicorn. Give it a swish," he said impatiently, pushing the wand into her hands. After another deafening crack, and a splintered door that was quickly fixed, Mr. Ollivander quickly took back the wand, and then disappeared into the back of the store.

Kagome sighed. That had been probably the thirtieth wand she had tried.

"What if none of the wands match me, Shippo?"

"Now, don't worry about that. I'm sure we'll find one that works for you. Your wand will be unique, just like you," he said comfortingly.

"How long did it take to find your wand?"

"Well, mine was custom-made, because – well, you know. I'm a bit different in the magical regard," Shippo said, smiling. And Kagome did know. It made sense, really. Demons were _different_ from humans, and of course they would need different wands.

"I didn't know that at first though," the fox-demon said, "So I went to two different wand shops, and I think I drove both of the owners crazy. Every wand made an little explosion when I touched it. One wand-maker even chased me out of the store!" Kagome laughed at the thought.

Mr. Ollivander entered back into the room with ten or eleven boxes in his arms. He placed the bundle of boxes onto his desk, and looked at Kagome.

"Now, Miss Higurashi, since you are such a tricky customer, I have here some older wands. These are wands that were made by my father, grandfather, great-grandfather and further. Many of these are very different from what I sell regularly. No one has yet to claim them, but perhaps, one will suit you." With that, the old man opened the first box. His eyes shone with intense interest as he held up the wand.

"Ten and a quarter inch. Bloodwood and dryad hair. Crafted by the former Ollivander. Flexible. Give it a go," the old man said, pale eyes watching in anticipation. There was a rustle of air, but nothing more. Kagome disappointingly handed the shiny red wood wand back to the old wizard. Perhaps she wasn't cut out to be a witch. The wand-maker blinked, his fingers quivering with excitement as he searched among the boxes for another wand to try.

"Eleven inches, one of my great-great-grandfather's. Cherrywood, and dragon tooth. Slender, and quite powerful." Kagome took the wand into her hands apprehensively, and was taken aback at the warmth that spread into her arms.

A flurry of pink sparks flew from the tip of the wand, and seemed to light up the dreary wand shop. The light that was emitted was reminiscent of her purifying power. Shippo clapped. Ollivander gave a grin that seemed rather out of place on his face.

"Congratulations! Looks like that's your wand!" Shippo said. Kagome smiled, elated that a wand had finally worked.

Mr. Ollivander nodded. His eyes were wide.

"Odd combination, even back then. Very rare, dragon tooth, that is. Quite difficult to meld..." the man muttered to himself.

"How much?" Shippo asked, interrupting his murmurs. They had been at the shop nearly an hour now, and they were suppose to meet Dumbledore soon.

"Ah, seven galleons." Kagome dug out the large gold coins and paid. Kagome was gathering her belongings when the wand-maker cleared his throat.

"Miss Higurashi, the wand chooses the witch or wizard. Your wand has waited quite a some time... I expect great things out of you."

Kagome nodded at his words, and left quickly with Shippo. Mr. Ollivander's piercing eyes had been starting to become creepy.

####

Dumbledore arrived at the Leaky Cauldron fifteen minutes past five. The pub was starting to get busy. A couple acquaintances shouted hellos to the old wizard, and he returned them.

The colorfully-dressed old wizard found Kagome and Shippo sitting at a table with butterbeers. Both were laughing, apparently at a story Shippo had told.

"Hello there," Dumbledore said merrily, "I apologize for being late; a meeting ran on longer than I thought it would."

"Oh no, that's quite fine," Shippo replied, "I don't think we even noticed!"

"Were you able to cast the translation spell?" Dumbledore inquired.

"Yes, he did. It works perfectly. Thank you so much," Kagome said grinning, in English.

"Wonderful," Dumbledore said aloud. Inwardly, he felt a bit of surprise. He had not expected this. A long term, all-encompassing spell like that required quite a bit of magical power, which was why it was not used commonly. This Shippo Isaka had to be quite powerful. He looked with renewed interest at the demon.

"You were able to obtain all your supplies?" the headmaster asked.

"Yes, everything went well," Kagome responded. The miko picked up all her belongings, which Shippo had conveniently shrunken for her to fit into her suitcase, with the exception of Tomomi, who had returned to her birdcage. She said goodbye to Shippo, gave him a hug, and made him promise to write often and to visit her.

Soon, Kagome was experiencing the odd, unpleasant sensation of Side-Along Apparition. Kagome gasped as soon as the squeezing sensation was gone. She opened her eyes to see an unexpected scene. They arrived at a the edge of a forest, with no house in sight.

"Are we suppose to be here?" Kagome asked warily. There was no one around, just her and the powerful old wizard. Surely, the house was not a treehouse or something like that?

"I wanted to explain a couple things to you before we arrive at the house. As I said before, it's an extremely safe house – Unplottable, with many wards and charms. However, there are some things I need to tell you about that I would prefer not to be heard by eavesdroppers at the Leaky Cauldron," the Headmaster explained. Kagome nodded.

"Right, as I explained to you before, Great Britain is in midst of a conflict with a Dark Lord," he said.

"Yes," Kagome said slowly, not seeing where this was going.

"Unfortunately, our government, the Ministry of Magic, does not recognize the threat. And so, there is a resistance force, the headquarters of which you will be staying at. We are not recognized by the government, which many suspect to be infiltrated with spies."

"Ah," Kagome said softly.

"Now, there is a family living at the home for security concerns. You will be staying with them – they are quite agreeable. I need your word that you will not betray the location or any information you have acquired there. Normally, an Unbreakable Vow would be used, however, I hesitate since you have no magical training. For now, a promise will suffice."

"Yes, of course. I won't tell anyone a thing," she said, wondering what an Unbreakable Vow was.

"Good! Well, that's all settled," the headmaster said, beaming. He took out a piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to her.

"Read this and memorize it," said the old wizard. The miko was confused, but did as she was told.

_The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London._

As soon as she was finished, the headmaster took back the piece of paper and tapped it with his wand. She watched as the paper curled up in flames.

The Headmaster casted another spell, that turned both of them invisible. It felt much like cold water was dripping down her back. Kagome looked at wonder at her hand. She could sort of see it since she knew it was there, but it seemed to blend into the background.

"Alright, journey on!" Dumbledore said, holding out his faintly outlined arm for her to take. As soon as she touched it, there was another dizzying, unpleasant sensation. They appeared in front of a row of grimy English houses. They looked worn down, with litter on their steps.

Kagome saw a number eleven and a number thirteen, but there was nothing where number twelve should have been. She looked around, confused, until the headmaster said quietly, "Think of what you read."

As soon as the words written on the parchment went through her mind, something started to emerge from between number eleven and thirteen. It pushed apart the houses on either side, as if both had been squeezed to make room in the middle. The tenants in the houses did not seem to notice – there were no screams of walls being moved, nothing. Kagome felt mouth drop slightly in astonishment, as an entire house emerged, complete with a door, windows, and steps.

"Well, come on now," Dumbledore said merrily. Kagome nodded dumbly as she followed him up the stone steps. The black paint on the door was starting to peel off. There was no handle or doorknob, only a tarnished silver door knocker in the form of a snake. Instead of turning the doorknob or knocking, the headmaster tapped his wand once on the door. A series of loud clicks followed, as if many locks were being unlocked. Finally, there was a clatter of a chain, and Dumbledore pushed the door open.

"Be careful, don't touch anything, and please do try to stay quiet," he said mildly. She nodded, and close the door behind them. The house smelled old and dusty, and the hall they entered was very dark. She carefully put her suitcase down, as well as the bird cage. The headmaster tapped her on the head, and the invisibility spell was lifted.

At this point, gas lamps on either side of the hall started to light themselves, casting a pale light on the walls. Dumbledore started forward, and she took up her belongings again, following him down the hallway lined with peeling green wallpaper and dark, dirty paintings.

There seemed to be a snake theme, she mused, as they passed underneath a dusty chandelier which seemed to resemble Medusa's head.

The old wizard opened the door at the end of the hallway, and they entered another room. There was a pair of old curtains covering something on the wall, and an umbrella stand that seemed to resemble – _a large leg?_ They passed a dark staircase, which seemed to have _heads _mounted on the wall.

_Wizards have such odd décor, _ she thought to herself, shivering. The headmaster lead her past a dark dining room, and lead her into the adjacent room. It appeared to be the most clean room she had seen so far. It was well lit with several red and gold lamps, which look remarkably out of place in the house.

An assortment of well worn couches were along the walls, and a jumble of picture frames sat on the mantle of an old fireplace. A stack of boxes sat in the corner, as if someone was just moving in. There was an open door, leading down to what was presumably the basement. She spotted tufts of red hair from behind the couches, talking loudly and playing some sort of game.

"Exploding Snap, I see?" Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling as he observed the game. The redheads started, and something exploded loudly. Someone swore loudly, and a girl's voice reprimanded him, scandalized.

"Professor Dumbledore! We didn't see you there," a tall, red-haired teenager said hastily. The bunch of them stood up quickly, forgetting the game. They were all wearing normal clothes, none of the robes that Kagome had seen many wearing in Diagon Alley.

"Nice to see you all," the old wizard said, smiling, "Would someone mind fetching Mrs. Weasley?"

Another redhead, a girl this time, went down the stairs to fetch the woman.

"Who's she?" asked one of the boys, looking interestedly at the Asian girl. Kagome, still confused from much of the trip, smiled hesitatingly.

"Must be the transfer student Mum was talking about yesterday," answered another. Kagome blinked. Two of them were identical. _Twins?_

"Right you are, Mr. Weasley. She will be staying with all of you for the summer," Dumbledore said pleasantly.

A brown-haired girl emerged from the bunch of redheads and held out her hand.

"Hello, I'm Hermione Granger. Nice to meet you," she said, shaking her hand.

"I'm Kagome Higurashi," Kagome said, smiling.

"The rest of them are related, as you can tell by their red hair. They're the Weasleys."

"Hello, I'm Fred," greeted a tall redhead.

"I'm George," said an identical boy, giving a wave.

"They're twins," said one of younger boys, "And I'm Ron."

"Are you from Japan?" inquired the brown-haired girl – _Hermione, _she reminded herself.

"Yes, I am."

"Which magical school did you go to in Japan? Do they teach different sorts of magic there? Are spells in Latin there too? Because here in England they are, but I think that in other countries such as –"

"Merlin, Hermione, calm down," laughed the youngest redhead, "I don't think she heard one word of that." The brown-haired girl blushed, and Kagome smiled at the girl's enthusiasm.

"Err, well, I actually haven't gone to a magical school before. I just discovered the whole Wizarding World a couple of days ago, and I don't know much about any kind of magic," Kagome said, apologetically. At this, all four of the teenagers looked at her, shocked.

"You're joking, right? You only discovered magic a couple of days ago? How old are you?" asked a fiery, red-haired girl, who had just entered the room, along with a woman who appeared to be her mother. Kagome's smile fell a bit at all the questions.

"Um, well, I'm fifteen. And no, I'm not joking. I really just found out about magic a few days ago," Kagome said, lying just a tad. She had really discovered magic about five centuries ago, but that was sure to just puzzle them further.

"Miss Higurashi is very new to the Wizarding World," the headmaster said, interjecting, " And I would appreciate it if all of you would kindly help her adjust. In the fall, she will be transferring to Hogwarts. She'll be learning magic over the summer, so she can keep up with her classes. Miss Granger, I was hoping that you would be able to help Miss Higurashi in this regard."

"Oh! Of course Professor Dumbledore," Hermione said, surprised, but extraordinarily pleased at the request from the headmaster.

"Thank you, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said, smiling, "Now, Molly, is there any room for Miss Higurashi here? Also, I need to discuss with you about tonight's meeting."

"Oh yes, of course, she can have the bedroom that we cleaned out yesterday. If you all could be dears and show her where it is..." the motherly and slightly plump woman said, waving in the direction of the door.

The red-haired girl turned around and rolled her eyes, but picked up the bird cage. The twins followed behind with the crane still perched one of their arms, and the rest of them followed suit. As soon as the door closed to the living room area, Ron scoffed.

"That was the worst attempt so far. Honestly, five people to show a girl a bedroom?"

"No offense to you or anything," Ginny said quickly, reassuring Kagome. The group climbed up the stairs, and walked down a hallway, with doors to what Kagome assumed would be bedrooms.

"Oh yeah, I didn't mean it that way. It's just that the adults keep trying to keep us out of the Order stuff," Ron said, apologizing.

"Ron!" Hermione hissed, "We don't know if she's suppose to know about the Order!" The twins laughed.

"She'll be bloody living here! Of course she knows! Dumbledore must trust her! And if she doesn't now, she'll find out later!" said one of the twins.

"But do you know about the Order?" the other twin said, interested, "Kagome, right?"

"Er, yes. To both. The headmaster told me it's a resistance group against some sort of Dark Lord? Voldemort, I believe?" Kagome said, hesitantly.

"Shhh!" said Ron, "You don't say his name! You're suppose to say You-Know-Who!"

"Err, why not?" Kagome said, puzzled. Surely, they couldn't be scared of a name?

"Oh, honestly, Ron," Hermione said, "I agree with Dumbledore. Fearing his name just gives him more power. We should all just say V-V-Voldemort." Kagome raised an eyebrow at her stutter. Yes, Naraku had been terrifying, especially to the poor villagers back in the Feudal Era, but nobody had been scared to say his mere _name._

"Well, here it is!" One of the twins said, stopping at an open door. They grinned at each other, and stood on either side of the door.

"Mademoiselle, Messieurs Weasley – "

" – and Weasley,"

" – formally present to you, your chambers,"

" – to which we sincerely hope are up to your specifications." The two bowed grandly, and each took one of Kagome's hands, leading her into the room. The redhead twin on her left gave her a little twirl. Kagome laughed at their antics. The two gave another bow, while Ron rolled his eyes.

"However, ladies, we must apologize," one said, tipping his imaginary top hat.

"We must tend to our obligations," said the other.

"See you at dinner!" And with that, the two disappeared out the door.

"They're jokesters," Ginny said, explaining, "That was actually pretty normal for them. Usually they're playing pranks –"

" – like chucking Dungbombs in my room," Ron grumbled.

"But they're brilliant, really," Ginny continued, ignoring Ron, "They've been inventing joke stuff, like candies that make your tongue really large, or turn you into a bird, or makes you puke so you can get out of class."

"Tricksters, I see," Kagome said, smiling. She looked around the room, setting down the birdcage on a small desk in the corner. The bedroom was a little larger than the one she had back home in Tokyo, and painted a bland beige color. On the farthest wall was a small window that seemed to only show puffs of clouds passing by.

Ginny noticed her looking at the window.

"Oh, that's one of those enchanted windows," she explained, "You're lucky – the room Hermione and I share is near the back of the house, so we have a real window. All we get to see is what's left of the yard. This one doesn't actually show what's outside, just some picturesque scenes." Kagome nodded in thanks for the explanation.

Hermione brightened at the interesting topic, and started to ask Ginny and Ron all sorts of questions about the enchantments on the windows. Kagome didn't understand much of what they said – most of it flew over her head. She felt better when she noticed that Ron and Ginny didn't seem to understand some of it either.

As Hermione continued on – "Oh, but it's all so terribly fascinating. Would it this be classified as an inanimate transfiguration enchantment, or an inanimate transfiguration charm, or perhaps, the frame of the window is made from a magical tree species..." – Kagome started to unpack. Ginny and Hermione had made themselves comfortable on her floor, while Ron was idly spinning in the chair next to the desk.

The Japanese teenager set down her suitcase next to the closet, and took out the shrunken down items she had bought in Diagon Alley. Taking her wand out of her coat pocket, and like Shippo had instructed, she tapped the shrunken items with her wand, and watched in delight as all her books and supplies expanded to full size.

"You used magic! That's against Hogwarts rules!" Hermione said, shocked. Kagome stopped unpacking and blinked at her volume, and recalled, belatedly, a caution from the Headmaster that underaged magic was not allowed.

"Oh honestly, Hermione," Ron said, rolling his eyes, "That sort of stuff doesn't even count. Plus, this house is Unplottable."

"What do you mean? And what does that have to do anything," the brown-haired girl asked, huffily.

"What he means is that Unshrinking isn't something really magical," Ginny explained, "Anyone with a wand could do that, even a Muggle. It's built into the spell, and no magic is needed."

"Don't worry, you're not going to get into trouble or anything," Ginny added. Kagome let out a sigh of relief.

"And plus, the house is Unplottable. It just can't be detected unless you know exactly where it is. Even the Ministry can't detect magic here. We could do all the magic we want, and the Ministry wouldn't find us. The only reason we don't is because Mum would absolutely kill us. Sirius let us in on that the first day we got here, to cheer us up after all the cleaning." Hermione let out a small 'oh'. The Japanese girl nodded at the information, and turned back to unzipping her suitcase. A silence descended upon the room as Kagome unpacked many of her belongings. Ron sat idly at her desk chair, staring out the window at the clouds. The two girls on the bed seem unsure of what to say, now that the conversation had mostly ended.

"Is that a bow?" Hermione asked in surprise, breaking the silence. Kagome nodded as she took it out of her suitcase, along with the accompanying quiver of arrows. It had been rather tricky to get through airport security, but that's where Shippo's magic had come in.

"Wow, aren't those from medieval times? Can you shoot with it?" Ginny asked, looking at the elegant longbow that miko held in her hands. It was huge, and it didn't seem like something the petite Asian girl would be able to use.

"Well, yes they used them back then, and yes, I practice archery." Kagome replied. Ron looked impressed.

"Why bring it to England?" Hermione asked in a puzzled tone before she could stop herself. Why anyone would bring a weapon like that anywhere confused her. Archery wasn't much of a popular sport, and required much space. Did the girl think she would be able to practice it at Hogwarts? Ron and Ginny both nodded, waiting for the answer.

"It holds a lot of special memories, and I promised someone that I would never leave my bow behind," Kagome said softly.

The three teenagers looked at each other, confused, while Kagome carefully stored the arrows and bow on the top shelf in the closet.

######

Review please!


	8. Chapter 8

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, especially those who leave long reviews with suggestions and insightful comments. They really get me to delve back into the story more!

Also, I AM BACK. :) School's been pretty difficult and all, but I think it's starting to wind down a bit. Hopefully, this means more time to work on this story, and others as well!

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Hermione and Ginny fetched Kagome for dinner about two hours later. She had put away all her things, and was now writing a letter to Shippo, letting him know that she had arrived safety. The two watched as Kagome finished up the last sentence with a couple more strokes, watching as the foreign characters appeared with her ink brush.

"Wow, that's so cool," Ginny said, marveling as the ink dried. Hermione nodded in agreement.

"Thanks," Kagome said, smiling. Writing with brush and ink always calmed her – she had loved calligraphy as a child, and it bought back memories of the few peaceful days in between those spent chasing Naraku. While Inuyasha dozed in a tree, Shippo colored with his crayons, and Sango cleaned her armor, Miroku would take out his black-purple ink and carefully write out his sutras.

The three girls quickly walked to the hallway and down to the kitchen. The scene that greeted her was both cheerful and slightly chaotic.

"Oh hello, Kagome! I hope you liked your room," Mrs. Weasley said, giving her a warm smile as she bustled around. Kagome nodded, a little astonished as she noticed the pans expertly cooking and flipping food on the stovetop by themselves. Several knives quickly chopped vegetables as Mrs. Weasley turned around to taste her soup with a wooden ladle.

"Ginny, could you take butterbeer to the table? And Hermione, do be a dear and take the rhubarb crumble out of the oven; it should be done by now," the short, plump woman said.

The twins waving their wands around, causing the silverware to make shapes on the table, while Ron carried a large cauldron of steaming soup. They carried on a conversation about something called Z_onkos_, with the twins, their brother and a lanky gaunt older man with long black hair – _Series? Was that his name? – _ disagreeing with Hermione. Ginny stood by watching it all, piping up once in a while to insert a witty comment.

Kagome marveled at all the food, most of which she didn't know the names of. It was so different from what she was used to – there was no rice, no miso, and no fish. Heavy silverware lined the large round wooden table instead of chopsticks. The table seemed to be set for twice the amount of people currently in the room.

Kagome turned around when she heard steps from the hallway, and an older man with thin red hair walked into the kitchen, the father of the family, she guessed. He wore a dusty green cloak, silver glasses, and carried a wand in his right hand.

"Oh, Arthur, how was your day, honey?" Mrs. Weasley said loudly, over the conversation.

"It was rather slow, only two or three calls, but never mind that. This looks fantastic Molly. Anyone joining us tonight?" Arthur said, looking at all the food.

"Oh yes, because of the – " and here, she casted a glance at the talking teenagers, who were still arguing " – meeting after. Bill's coming of course, Lupin's will be here soon, Tonks said she would drop by if she could, and Mundungus could never miss a free meal," she said, muttering the last bit under her breath, and then brightened up, "And even Alastor is coming!"

"Sounds great," he said tiredly, setting his briefcase against the wall. Soon, she heard three popping sounds in the hallway, a large clunking sound in the hallway, and then, Kagome jumped at the sound of a women screaming loudly, and a plate slipped from Hermione's hand and broke on the floor.

"Tonks," the red-headed children said in chorus. Kagome winced as the sound of an angry woman on a tirade came from the dark hallway. Under the shrieking was the apologetic "Sorry! Sorry! I didn't mean to!" from who she assumed to be Tonks. Bewildered, she followed suit as everyone else plugged their ears with their fingers. It sounded like someone was being put through torture.

"Tonks!" Mrs. Weasley said, exasperated, "Oh, Sirius, would you please?" She ran toward the hallway, as the sound escalated, as seemingly more voices joined the first in the screeching.

The tall, black-haired man quickly followed hands over his ears as the horrid screaming continued, on and on. After a couple minutes of the screaming and shouting from Sirius, the sound suddenly died down.

"What in the world was that?" Kagome said, bewildered. Surely they weren't keeping prisoners in the house!

"Oh, those were the portraits. This is Sirius's house, but he was pretty much the black sheep of his family, so the portraits always can get worked up if they're woken," Ron explained. The explanation didn't exactly tell her much, and she must have still looked confused, since Hermione tried next.

"Magical portraits move and talk, and basically have all the traits of their deceased subjects. That's what all the curtains in the hallway are for – to keep them quiet and sleeping, since most of them don't like us being here. Sirius's family, the Blacks, are traditionally Dark, and since Sirius was not, they disowned him, and their portraits are rather upset because he now owns this house. That's why we tiptoe through that hallway."

Kagome nodded in understanding, even though she was still a little shocked – _Living portraits?It's like out of a horror film! – _and turned to see a couple newcomers walk in the door. There was a young woman with pastel purple hair, a man with drab brown hair in shabby robes, as well as a rather unsavory-looking man with stringy hair and tattered clothing. The woman cheerfully greeted the teenagers, as the suspicious-looking man talked to the twins, whose eyes darted around, and the other man greeted Sirius.

More people arrived after. Another Weasley sibling apparated in, "Bill, he's the oldest," Ginny supplied. As everyone started to sit down at the table, a grizzled, grey-haired man with a peg for a leg and a rather odd eye entered.

As everyone dug in to the hearty food, conversation began to flow. Kagome was seated next to Ginny and Sirius, and across from the man with the crazy-looking eye strapped to his head.

"That's Moody," Ginny said quietly to Kagome, "He's one of the best Aurors we've got, but he's a little paranoid and crazy."

"Just because I'm missing a leg and an eye doesn't mean I can't hear, girl," Moody growled. Ginny jumped and blushed bright red.

"So, you're the new girl Dumbledore told me about," he growled, turning his spinning eyeball onto Kagome, "You afraid of Death Eaters? Would you help one if they had a wand at your throat?"

The talk at the table died rather quickly, all turning to stare at Moody who was looking at Kagome. Before she had a chance to answer, Mrs. Weasley quickly admonished him.

"Alastor! She's just a child! We're at dinner!"

"Why not? Dumbledore said she's safe, but I want to be sure," he said, still watching Kagome. He was either oblivious to the awkward silence, or just didn't care.

"Er no, I don't like Death Eaters, and I wouldn't help them out," Kagome said, a little spooked. The man's eye was spinning crazily in all directions now. As the conversation began to flow again, Sirius leaned over.

"Relax, Alastor's just paranoid. Although, if I had been attacked as many times as he has, I would be too." Kagome accepted his reassurance with a smile. She then asked him what a Auror was, and he explained to her what the job meant, and then added onto the fact that he had wanted to be one, before he was thrown into prison.

At her alarmed expression, Sirius explained his situation as an innocent, escaped criminal. His expression was dark as he described the Dementors and his escape. Ginny helpfully added what she had heard that Ron, Hermione, and Harry, Sirius's godson, had done. Soon, Ron and Hermione were also jumping in, as the rest of the table listened intently. They, of course, had all heard the story, but never told in quite so much detail.

Several of the adults looked alarmed to hear the entire story of the events of Harry, Ron and Hermoine's third year, especially when it involved so much danger. Kagome noticed that Bill Weasley, the tall one with the dragon fang earring, leaned over Mrs. Weasley and whisper, "Relax Mum. It happened years ago, and there was nothing you could've done."

"There were literally hundreds of Dementors, and I was so scared," Hermione said. Remus Lupin saw the puzzled look on Kagome's face, and quickly explained the nature of the cloak-like, soul-sucking creature. Kagome shivered at the thought of such a dark creature.

"And then Harry came through, and casted this huge patronous. This stag just galloped through and pushed all of them away. Of course, it was then we realized that what Harry had seen earlier wasn't his father, but himself," Hermione said.

This, of course, lead to a brief explanation of exactly who 'Harry' was, and why he was so notable.

"You've probably never heard of Harry Potter, but he's famous in the Wizarding World," Hermione said, and then the brown-haired man named Remus Lupin continued the story. According to the story, he and Sirius had been Harry's father's best friends.

Kagome listened with wide eyes to the tragic tale. It boggled her mind to think that this 'Voldemort' character would attempt to kill a child. The boy now lived with his non-magical relatives, who treated him poorly because of his magic. The twins, Ginny, Ron, Hermione and Sirius all looked visibly happier when Tonks announced that Dumbledore said Harry would most likely be arriving within a week.

Soon, dinner was over, and as the dishes magically washed themselves, Mrs. Weasley shooed all the teenagers out of the room. The headmaster, a stern tall woman, and pale man with greasy black locks joined the other adults in the dining room. Kagome was sitting at the top of the steps, unsure of what to do as the rest of the teenagers stayed stubbornly in the dining room.

Ron, Ginny, Fred and George all argued vehemently about being 'of age' or 'almost of age', and wanting to help in the whatever the adults were doing, but eventually they had to leave. Sirius sent them apologetic glances as he shut the door. Kagome approached the others as they stood near the door talking.

"It's not fair," Ron said, irritated, staring at the door, "We have just as much right to help as anyone else. We should be in the Order."

He put his ear up against the door, and then kicked the it angrily, mumbling about annoyingly thick doors.

"The Order of the Phoenix fights against the Death Eaters and You-Know-Who," Hermione explained tiredly, "We want in, but nobody wants us to know anything or even let us help out." Kagome nodded. Of course, the adults wanted to protect the teenagers, but conflict would involve everyone.

"Worry not, children," George said with a little smile and a wink toward Kagome.

"We've figured out a way to end our problems," Fred said, leaning sideways against the wall.

"How the bloody hell are you going to convince Mum to let us in?" Ron said. Both Fred and George pulled out long, flesh-colored strings from their pockets.

"What are those?" Ginny asked.

"We call them – " Fred started.

"Extendable Ears!" George finished. They demonstrated placing one end near their ear and the other end under the door.

Hermione hesitated as she looked at the fleshy end of the string doubtfully. She looked torn, between wanting to know what was going on and sticking to the rules.

"Oh, this is so wrong, we shouldn't be doing this..."

"Alright, you don't have to," Ginny said shrugging, walking right up to the door and plucking an Extendable Ear out of Fred's hand, "But I sure as hell want to know if any progress is being made against the Death Eaters."

"Sorry Kagome," Fred apologized as all the fleshy strings were given out, "We only made enough in the first batch for who we thought would be here. You can share with me though."

Soon, six teenagers were awkwardly crouching by the door.

"...should be more stretchy in the next batch..." Fred mumbled.

"Shh! It's starting to work!" George shushed. Slowly, they could hear the jumble of voices start to clear.

To their dismay, the adults didn't speak about any master plans or imminent battles. Instead, there was discussion on potential new Order of the Phoenix members, as well as a warning by Dumbledore about the potential dangers, as well as security measures that would be taken. There was some grumbling when he announced that many of the members would not know details of some of their plans, as a safety precaution for everyone. Mr. Weasley mentioned wearily that the Ministry was starting to become suspicious and many others murmured their agreement.

Soon, there was a shuffling as the adults stood up and pushed back their chairs. With alarm, the teenagers scrambled up the steps just in time to avoid detection. Kagome felt a twinge of guilt for eavesdropping on these people she didn't even know.

_But then again, I'll need to know all the details of this Wizarding turmoil if I'm going to survive here. From the stories I've heard so far, it's a serious problem!_

###

The next day, Kagome began to learn about Wizarding magic. After the Order of the Phoenix meeting, Dumbledore asked to speak with her and Hermione, which caused a panic among the teenagers, all afraid they had been caught eavesdropping. However, the headmaster had just wanted to let Kagome know of the arrangements that had been made for summer classes.

On weekday mornings, she would floo to Hogwarts for classes with the professors. He had explained that most of them were rather busy, even during the summer, so on the other days, she would be assigned extra homework. Then, Dumbledore explained that Hermione would, if she didn't mind, be acting as a sort of 'assistant professor' to her. Hermione beamed inordinately at this title.

"Of course, Mrs. Granger, you will be compensated for your time, and along with that, there will be some extra privileges, such as full access to the Hogwarts Library for educational purposes," he had said, blue eyes twinkling. Kagome wasn't sure if the other girl could physically smile more.

"Please be discreet about the situation, although I am sure there will be no problems with you two girls. Sirius has informed me that the house is Unplottable, and therefore, the Ministry will not detect magic within these walls, so you will be able to practice magic. I trust that you and Miss Granger will only do so responsibly, and only for educational purposes." The two girls had nodded and verbally agreed to the headmaster's words.

And so, the next morning, she and Hermione were sitting in the living room, wands and books ready to go. They had an audience – the rest of the Weasleys currently in the house minus Mr. Weasley, who had gone to work, and plus Sirius, who was sitting in a couch across the table, looking – for the lack of a better word – rather hungover.

Ron, Ginny, and Hermione had all been ecstatic to find out they could practice magic during the summer. Judging from the look on Mrs. Weasley's face when she heard, Dumbledore would've gotten a talking to if he had been anyone else. She insisted that spells could only be cast for practice, not nilly willy. At this point, Ginny coughed loudly, which sounded suspiciously like _Fred and George._

"Let's start with _Windgardium Leviosa,_" Hermione said enthusiastically. She talked briefly about the type of spell it was _(Charm)_, demonstrated levitating a feather, and had Kagome repeat the phrase and wand movements several times_._

"Now, don't be discouraged if the feather doesn't do much for the first few attempts. That's pretty normal. I was the only one my class who managed to levitate the feather, mostly since I carefully listened to Professor Flitwick..."

Kagome was itching to just _do it._ Hermione was continuing on about how the spell was first invented, while the miko fidgeted with her wand in her hand. She could hear the rest of the Weasleys, along with Sirius, chuckling about a time when Ron had apparently knocked out a _troll_ with the levitation spell.

"Hermione, Kagome doesn't need to know the entire history of levitation," Ginny finally said.

"Sorry," Hermione said sheepishly, and then nodded for Kagome to go ahead. She took the wand into her right hand. For some reason, it just felt so _right_ in her hand.

With the words _Wingardium Leviosa _out of her mouth, and a warm feeling throughout her body, the white feather laying on the table slowly, and smoothly, began to sway up into the air. There was general applause from the occupants, and a genuinely shocked look from Hermione.

"Right on the first try," George said, impressed.

"Nice job!" Fred said, "It took us a couple times to get it right, remember George?"

Kagome repeated the spell a few times, and each time, the feather rose more quickly in the air. And then, just for fun, she floated the feather right over the twin's heads, and then back out of their reach when they tried to grab it. Soon, they were jumping into the air, trying to knock down the quickly-moving feather.

When Mrs. Weasley finally made them settle down for fear of breaking something, she smiled at Kagome.

"Kagome dear, you have superb control! It doesn't even seem like this is your first try at magic!" To this, Kagome just smiled and thanked the motherly woman for her words.

_Yes, well, it isn't. 'Magic' back then just involved more 'running from raging demons', and 'trying to avoid being something's dinner!' _Kagome thought wrly.

"Yes, that was great!" Hermione said surprised, "I don't think any first year would have as much control as you do. Usually, it takes a class or two for most of the kids to cast the spell."

Kagome was just happy that this whole wand-magic thing was working out. She had been a little afraid that learning to use a wand would be as difficult as learning to shoot purifying arrows, but, it looked like life decided to not be hard for once. Hopefully, this meant that at Hogwarts, she wouldn't stick out with her lack of magical experience. A wide grin appeared on Kagome's face.

"It doesn't seem like you need practice with that," Hermione said briskly, "But we'll go over it again at the end of the day just to be sure. Now let's move onto the next spell – we'll be working on transfiguration. Here's a needle, now, the key to this is visualization..."

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Reviews make my world go round! :)


	9. Chapter 9

Er, sorry about the misleading 'I'm back!' in the last chapter. I had to pick a college to attend, which was the most nerve-wracking decision in my life to date, and then I started working full time job. I'll be attending college in three weeks (late, I know!). Right now, I'm recovering from a wisdom teeth extraction, and then I'll start working again. Life gets in the way.

Also, I apologize if my accounting of alcohol is a little off. I don't drink.

I've fixed several inconsistencies, thank you to those of you who pointed things out. Nothing was really major, just a word here and there was deleted and replaced.

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####

The next morning, Kagome nervously stood in front of the fireplace, staring at the powder in her hand doubtfully.

"It's really nothing to fret about dearie," Molly Weasley said, "Just step into the fireplace, throw the Floo powder above your head, and pronounce the name of your destination clearly."

Casting another dubious glance at the fireplace, Kagome nodded, flung the powder in the air, and said loudly, "Professor McGonagall's office, Hogwarts." She gasped as green flames started to swirl around her, shutting her eyes tightly as she seemed to spin. Then, she was stumbling out of a fireplace, eyes flying open to see a stern older woman sitting behind a desk.

"You must be Miss Higurashi," the witch said, "I am Professor McGonagall, your transfiguration teacher.

####

Kagome coughed in the dust. Mrs. Weasley had declared that certain rooms in the house had to be cleaned, and so here she was, dusting the books in the library. She, Sirius, and Ginny had been tasked with the dusting and cleaning of the library, while Fred, George, Hermione, Ron, and Mrs. Weasley were tackling the basement.

The three of them had been discussing Quidditch, a sport played on broomsticks, of all things. However, the dust had kept causing them sneeze and cough, so eventually the conversation subsided. Every time she tried to wipe off a shelf or dust the books, a miniature cloud of dust surrounded her. According to Sirius, the house had been empty for more than a decade, and it definitely showed in the amount of dirt that had accumulated.

Dusty tomes lined the rectangular room and touched the rather high ceiling. A green couch and an old worn recliner sat next to a side table with elegant silver lamp. Kagome was in the corner of the room, carefully dusting off some thick books. Many of them bore rather sinister names, such as _Power through the Dark Arts _and _The Delicate Art of Torture. _

As Kagome continued to clean with a large rag in one hand and the other, holding a napkin over her mouth and nose, her mind drifted to her current living situation. It wasn't any odder than roaming the Japan's countryside in it's Warring States period in a school uniform, of course, but it definitely had it's peculiarities.

The house was dark, odd, old, and at some times, rather creepy. However, she could see that it had once been imposing and proud beneath the cobwebs and dust. Each wipe of her rag revealed the rich color of dark mahogany of the bookshelves, and the carpet looked to once have had flourishing patterns, now faded.

She had learned that this house had been inhabited by Sirius's family, the Blacks. From what he had said, they had mostly been pompous and rather evil. Now, he was one of the last Blacks, and owned the house, even though his mother, the screeching portrait near the entrance, had disowned him.

He was rather moody, and often drank at night. Kagome felt sad for Sirius – he put on a mask around her and the rest of the kids, but it often slipped, and then, the wear of more than a decade in prison with those soul-sucking creatures showed. The gauntness in his face was apparent, and very few of his smiles seemed to be genuine. So much of his life had slipped away, being labeled as a traitor to his entire world for a horrendous crime he was innocent of.

And so, she did her best to engage him in conversation whenever she could. Whenever he just sat and stared into blank space, she peppered him with questions on the Wizarding World. When she found out that he had a talent for defense spells, she asked him to demonstrate. The man always looked a little surprised at being addressed by her, but the surprise was always accompanied by a smile of amusement at her seemingly never-ending curiosity.

####

_Kagome's interesting,_ Hermione mused as she wiped a dusty lamp. The Japanese witch was a fast learner, especially at anything that required a wand. She excelled at Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts, and was running through the textbook spells at a rather astonishing rate . Transfiguration was slightly harder for her, but she was still learning it quickly. Potions, Herbology, and Astronomy were all proceeding at a normal pace. History of Magic was somewhat of a struggle.

Kagome herself though, was somewhat of a mystery. Hermione knew from _Hogwarts, A History _that transfer students were exceedingly rare throughout the centuries. Even fewer were 'late bloomers' in magic, such as Kagome. It was an abnormality, almost unheard of.

And, well, Hermione wasn't sure what to make of it. Although Kagome was quite obviously new to magic and the Wizarding World, she generally was able to cast every spell by the fourth or fifth try – an unheard of success rate, especially for someone new to magic! At Hogwarts, most students took the entire class to cast a spell successfully. An average student would attempt to cast the spell anywhere from twenty to thirty times in a class period. Hermione, usually having read ahead, was generally successful by her fifteenth try.

Privately, Hermione was sometimes irked with Kagome's successes. It seemed so easy and natural for the Japanese witch, and she was moving through spells rapidly. Yes, she admitted to herself, she was very jealous of Kagome's ability. Yes, Kagome studied her spells hard, but not nearly as hard as she had! Hermione typically read up on the spell, and then explored it's background and magical theory before each class, which was pretty much ten times diligent than most Hogwarts students, and yet, Kagome blew through the course material like it was air. It wasn't fair!

_Yes,_ Kagome was older than Hermione was when she started, and _yes,_ magic did grow stronger with age, but Hermione knew those were very minor factors, even though she clung to them for an explanation on why Kagome was so much _better_ at magic. Lazy success stories – _well okay, Kagome was certainly not lazy _– effortless success stories, were the bane of students like Hermione.

But then, Kagome always seemed to know when to say the right thing – perhaps by complimenting Hermione on her teaching ability, or laughing at envisioned scenarios where the spell would be used – and Hermione would feel ashamed of her thoughts and envy. And so, Hermione tried hard to keep a lid on those feelings, and was generally successful. Kagome was a very nice witch, and honesty, it would be unfair of her to blame the witch for her success, especially when she was her teacher!

Besides, all the subjects which did not normally require a wand – Potions, Herbology, Astronomy, and History of Magic – were not Kagome's strong points. It was true that she was proceeding at a faster than normal pace in all of these subjects, but that was because Kagome tried very hard, studying late into the night regularly. And of course, there was Hermione's efficient teaching style.

Hermione did have to admire Kagome's discipline – mornings were comprised of lessons with Hogwarts professors, and afternoons, diligent studying and completing homework with Hermione. Kagome would rest in the evening, talking with others, learning how to play wizarding board games or helping out on Mrs. Weasley's designated chore of the day.

But other than Kagome's cheerful and hardworking personality, Hermione, and the rest of the occupants of the house as well, knew very little about the girl. They knew she often wrote to her family and a boy who was an old friend of her's, keeping her owl busy with letters, and that she was an archer. The Japanese witch prized her bow, and sometimes Hermione would happen upon her while she was polishing the wood.

She was inexperienced with the wizarding world, but seemed to handle magic in a way that seemed natural. She said she was pure Japanese, and yet her eyes shone a European blue, and only shrugged when Ron had asked her about it, saying, "Genetic defect?" which, of course, had merely confused Ron who had no knowledge of muggle genetics. Sometimes, Kagome seemed to drift off into her memories, and once in a while, told stories about old friends with a wistful smile on her face.

Now that Hermione thought of it, the whole situation was rather odd. Why in the world would a Japanese witch come to a British Wizarding school? There were magic schools in Japan. And, from what little Hermione knew of the girl's background, there did not seem to be any British family ties. All Kagome had said was that Dumbledore had showed up, and offered her a place at Hogwarts. And she honestly did not seem to know more than that.

But, although the situation was odd, Kagome was pleasant to be around. Hermione liked the girl, even if she was envious of her magical prowess. She was often talkative, and fun to be around. And so, Hermione pushed back the majority of her questions inside her mind for now – eventually, they would be answered.

####

There was often a tension in the air at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, that much was apparent to Kagome. Whenever anyone mentioned war or Death Eaters, faces turned grim – especially around the older wizards and witches who had experienced the last war. However, there were also pockets of happiness and camaraderie. Living among the Weasleys was so different. Dinner was always a loud affair, with a least a dozen people, and redheads bickering. Paintings would shriek at her, and the house elf, Kreacher, would glare. There was always someone to talk to or to teach her about wizarding games. Before falling into the well, Kagome lived a quiet life, only punctured by bouts of her grandpa yelling at Buyo for chewing on his precious relics.

In the feudal era, the atmosphere could be even more tense – Naraku could attack at anytime, anywhere, and lives were always at stake. They were always urgently on the move. Grimmauld Place almost felt relaxing in comparison.

Kagome smiled as she sank back into the armchair, Transfiguration textbook in hand. The library of the house actually had a sort of cozy feel to it now, after they cleaned, packed away the most malevolent books, and dragged in a couple worn-out armchairs and sofas. It was late, and in another armchair nearby, Sirius sat, slumped over and sleeping. Beer bottles sat on the side desk next to him.

Kagome had decided to provide Sirius some company after she caught him sneaking downstairs with the alcohol. It had been obvious that Sirius just wanted to drink away his sorrows. He had jumped, and then told her not to mention it to Molly.

"Why?" Sirius had said suspiciously, "Why do you want to watch an old man drink?"

"Maybe I'm lonely, staying up all the time and studying," the Japanese witch had simply replied. After a moment, Sirius had nodded, motioning to the library.

An album of photos laid across Sirius's lap, under an arm. Sirius had started off the first couple bottles, quietly glancing at photos with old friends, and then, all of a sudden, he had begun to talk about his friends, the self-styled 'Marauders', and the antics they had gone through at Hogwarts. Kagome had listened and laughed with him, asking him about Hogwarts, causing Sirius to go on long, drunken rambles about his years as a student. The pile of empty bottles grew and grew. The Transfiguration laid forgotten on Kagome's lap. His voice had grown softer, and then the words stopped.

The man had gone through hell and back. His youth had been crushed by betrayal, and the his heart, darkened with sadness. There was always a depressed aura around Sirius, and his eyes were often dull, only bright when he spoke of the past. Kagome's heart ached – _could nothing help him?_

_Perhaps... Perhaps I can do something._

She looked around, noting that the door to the library was shut firmly. Her eyes focused on Sirius and her gaze became intense.

_Not as insidious as that blonde boy's aura, but there is a definite gray murkiness dulling his aura. It's tangible, but difficult to make out. This will be hard, or at least require multiple tries – it's very misty and quite integrated into Sirius. _

Kagome frowned. It must've been all the years he spent in that prison, near those dark and foul creatures.

_I'll have to be careful, or else it'll be painful. I probably should've been more careful with that blonde boy, but he really had been asking for it. Now, what did Kaede say about this again? Right, breathe..._

She placed her textbook aside on the armrest, and lightly jumped to her feet, walking over to Sirius. His chest lifted up and down as he breathed. Gently, Kagome placed her hands, one on his back, the other, on his chest. The witch breathed deeply, in and out, as she felt the warmth surge out of her.

Slowly, a white light began to emanate from Kagome. She didn't notice, since her eyes were closed, concentrated matching the pulsing of the man's aura. The white glow around the two figures began to recede in, and flare out like the tide, in sync to the beating of their hearts. Every time, Kagome purified a little murkiness away.

When the last of her strength was sapped away, Kagome released her hands and opened her eyes blearily. Through her lidded eyes, she noticed the Sirius seemed to be breathing a little easier, a little lighter, although it might've just been her fatigued imagination. Slowly, she walked shakily the few steps over to the other armchair, and gratefully sank into it. Sleep quickly settled in.

####

There was a light, but insistent tapping on Kagome's shoulder. She shifted her weary bones. "_Go away,"_ she murmured in Japanese.

"Kagome? You should probably get up before Molly finds you sleeping down here," a male voice said.

She blinked, opening her eyes, to see Sirius standing over her. She stretched, sitting up on the armchair.

"Huh, I feel asleep here," Kagome said.

"Me too, I guess we both were tired. You have twenty minutes before breakfast usually starts," Sirius said, yawning, "Do you feel alright from sleeping on that chair?"

"My neck's a little sore, but I'm fine," Kagome said, before inquiring, "What about you?"

"I actually feel pretty good," Sirius said, looking a little puzzled and sweeping his long hair out of his eyes, "I don't even have a hangover."

"You must've drank less than usual," Kagome said lightly, twirling her wand behind her back, trying to vanish a few of the bottles. She hadn't tried any nonverbal spells yet, but luckily, it looked like she got the hang of it, as three empty glass bottles disappeared.

Sirius turned around, looking back at the side table where a few empty bottles sat.

"I could've sworn I ... " Sirius trailed off, "You must've distracted me by asking all those questions about Hogwarts! I didn't have the chance to drink as much."

"You caught me," Kagome said, giving an easy smile, as she walked out the library, "I'll see you at breakfast in a few minutes."

####

Harry was stretched out on his bed, thin blanket covering only his stomach. The morning sun streamed in from the window, and he basked in the silence and peace for the short while before the Dursleys would wake up. The teenager watched lazily as several objects circled above him. A quill, a crumpled piece of parchment, one of Hedwig's owl treats and a slightly cracked alarm clock all made loops around each other in mid air. All these objects were now shades of Gryffindor red and gold.

He had been getting ahold of this whole wandless magic thing, especially with the levitation spell. It was much different from magic with a wand, he was starting to realize. It _felt_ different. There were no words, simply his own intense focus and will. The concentration part was perhaps the hardest part – he could sort of feel his own magic, centered around him. Whenever he performed wandless magic, he had to drive out a force inside him, and manipulate it with his mind. It was difficult, and often made him feel as if he had just ran several miles, but it had grown easier. Now, levitating small trinkets was practically effortless. So far, his limit was levitating a heavy cabinet a couple inches off the ground. Harry was feeling very encouraged.

This was something he could use in battle. Color changing charms wasn't something that he could use against Voldemort, but there were many applications for being able to make objects move however he wanted them too. In a crisis, even a small pebble could hit Voldemort upside the head and distract him from casting a spell. If Harry was ever captured and his wand, taken away, Voldemort, egotistical maniac he was, would let his guard down when he thought Harry was defenseless. With this, the teenager nodded grimly, he never would be.

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	10. Chapter 10

Hey look, an update! Don't all look so surprised!

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It very fortunate that Tonks had warned Harry ahead of time of the Order's arrival. The loud _crash _that came shortly after the Dursleys had left smugly for their lawn competition would've, if Harry had been unaware, caused him to go charging downstairs with his carefully crafted wandless magic abilities. There was no particular _reason_ to keep his wandless abilities a secret, he wanted to keep it to himself. It was, he supposed, a sort of inner-rebellion against the adults who had tried to keep him in the dark all summer. It wasn't like they _deserved_ to know. Before crashing into Tonks in the garden, Harry had nearly gone crazy trying to find information about the goings-on in the Wizarding World. At one point, he had even resorted to squatting in flower beds, trying to hear the Dursley's television through the open window. He wholly blamed Dumbledore for that. And, the feeling of having a secret advantage, of having something up his sleeve – it Harry felt more confident.

And so, Harry just snickered to himself when he heard a loud crash from the kitchen. It was definitely Tonks, and it sounded like she had gotten a few pots involved.

_Act like this is all a surprise to you, _Harry reminded himself. He had no intention of exposing Tonks. She had given him information that no one else would, and kept him from feeling friendless and lonely all summer. Of course, she kept large chunks of what the Order was actually doing from him, and told mostly vague or public information, but Harry didn't pry – it was understandable. He couldn't expect her to give up all the Order's secrets. It had been enough that she had pointed out the slandering in the Daily Prophet and the current tension in the Ministry. Harry hadn't even noticed the sly insults in the paper!

He could hear footsteps right outside his bedroom now. Quietly, he laid himself flat against the wall and parallel to the door, ready to surprise whoever opened the door. There was a soft clicking as someone unlocked the locks and bolts that Uncle Vernon was fond of, and opened the door.

"Harry?" came Professor Lupin's voice, as the door slowly opened. The professor's head peered in, looking quizzically at the bedroom and straight ahead.

"Yes?" Harry said, pivoting on one foot quickly, so that he was directly facing the professor, wand pointed at his nose.

"Merlin, Harry!" the wizard said, stepping back in shock when Harry seemed to appeared in front of him.

"I like him already," a low voice growled, "Now put down that wand of yours." It sounded like Professor Moody, but he wasn't too sure. Harry switched on the light, and blinked when he could suddenly see. There were several people standing in the hall, all looking at him.

"Good, we can finally see," Harry heard Tonks say.

"What are you all doing here?" Harry asked, putting his best 'confused' face on. He knew it was to finally take him away from the Dursleys, but it would be best to put on an act.

After answering Professor Lupin's question about his Patronus form, Harry was quickly introduced to the several wizards crowding around – Alastor Moody (who Harry thought he had known for a full year), Tonks, who gave a sly wink, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Elphias Doge, Dedalus Diggle, Emmeline Vance, along with a couple others whose names he promptly forgot. Tonks cast some sort of spell that made everything pack up into his trunk, albeit a bit haphazardly, and after an uncomfortable disillusionment and a talk from Moody that mentioned death several times, the platoon of wizards and witches left by broom.

####

Harry's eyebrows quirked as he caught sight of a petite Asian girl behind Ron and Hermione in the hallway. Tonks had mentioned something about a transfer student staying at Sirius's place, but Harry hadn't thought much of it and had forgotten it until now.

Harry smiled as Ron and Hermione greeted him, but inside he felt a bit of irritation. He had been all alone at Privet Drive for the majority of the summer, and here they were, in the center of the action without even letting him know what had been going on. Yes, he knew his irritation was somewhat irrational – Tonks had let him know that Dumbledore cautioned against sending letters with too much information, for fear the owls would be intercepted. He was sure he would've gone mad if Tonks had not let him know about the situation. They hadn't even mentioned the transfer student, and surely that bit of information was harmless. If it were not for wandless magic to keep him occupied and the tidbits of information from Tonks, the summer would've been very frustrating.

However, Harry decided against expressing these feelings to Ron and Hermione, especially in front of a stranger. It would've been too odd. He would find out what was going on with Ron and Hermione later.

"It's so good to see you," Hermione said, enveloping Harry in a hug. Harry blew away a strand of her bushy hair, while returning the hug.

"How have you been, mate?" Ron asked, clasping Harry heavily on the back.

"Alright, you know, the Dursleys," Harry said, shrugging.

"Oh, Harry, this is Kagome Higurashi. She's a transfer student to Hogwarts who's staying here for now. Kagome, this is Harry Potter." The girl stepped forward, and Harry got a good look at her. She had long wavy hair. Her curiously bright blue eyes sparkled as she smiled, reaching out to shake his hand.

"Oh, you're Sirius's godson. It's a pleasure to finally meet you," Kagome said cheerfully. Harry blinked as he shook her hand. He had never been referred to as Sirius's godson. It was always, 'The-Boy-Who-Lived!' or a very enthusiastic exclamation of his name with a glance at his forehead. It was refreshing, for some reason, to be known differently.

"Yes, Sirius is my godfather," Harry said smiling, "It's nice to meet you, Kagome."

####

Ron and Hermione had made their point – even if they were living in the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, the meetings were still secret, and the adults were careful not to mention Order business in front of the teenagers. After the heated conversation with Ron and Hermione about the lack of communication over the summer, a mollified Harry made his way into the Black Library.

It would be another twenty minutes before Molly called them down for dinner, and Harry wanted to catch up with Sirius. The black-haired man looked better than he ever had before, although traces of gauntness lingered.

"So, Sirius, why is Kagome living here?" Harry asked, turning away from the Black Family tree tapestry. After the surprising revelation that he and Sirius were related to each other, as well as to most of the rest of the purebloods in the Wizarding world, Harry had to ask about the puzzle that was the transfer student.

"I mean, you're an escaped convict. The Order has meetings here. It just doesn't seem very safe to have a stranger here," Harry pointed out.

"You know about the Order?" Sirius said, turning around quickly. Harry started to speak, but Sirius cut him off.

"Nevermind, I'm sure Ron and Hermione told you first chance they got. You would've found out anyway. Kagome is..." Sirius trailed off.

"She can be trusted. Dumbledore asked if she could stay here. He said that it was for her safety."

"How can we know she can be trusted? I mean, she seems nice, but appearances can be deceiving," Harry argued.

"Look, Harry, she's not a bad person. In fact, she's really great, actually. And well – alright, you can't tell anyone this. Most of the Order doesn't even know, it's just me, since Dumbledore had to let me know why she's staying in my house," Sirius told him, throwing a quick glance to make sure the door was shut.

"Alright," Harry acquiesced, "I won't tell anyone."

"Dumbledore says she has a part to play in the war against Voldemort," Sirius said very quietly.

"Wait, what? Why? How would he know that? Hermione said Kagome just started to learn magic during the last two months!" Harry said loudly, confused.

"Keep your voice down!" Sirius hissed, "I have no idea. That's all Dumbledore told me, and he said he couldn't say much more."

"But that's ridiculous! She's just a student!" Harry said.

"Yes, just as ridiculous as the press labeling you the Chosen One, or the fact you've survived so many encounters with Voldemort," Sirius said, a hint of sadness in his voice. Harry opened his mouth reflexively to respond, and then closed it, conceding to Sirius with a nod.

The headmaster always kept his secrets tightly guarded. Harry had several pages of notes with various theories about why Voldemort seemed to fixate on him, and they ranged from simply _'Voldemort is a psychopath who takes me being alive as a affront' _to _'Voldemort and Dumbledore are actually best buddies that enjoy screwing the Wizarding World over'._

Harry's interest was peaked by Sirius's disclosure of what Dumbledore had said. He wondered if Kagome knew, but he said nothing, only observing her closely during the rest of the day. She seemed quite cheerful, and he noticed that she was much closer to Sirius than he would've expect.

Kagome treated Sirius as a friend, just as she would treat any of the other teenagers. While Hermione, Ron and the rest of the Weasleys treated Sirius well, it was not with the same closeness that existed between family or friends of the same age. Harry noted the fondness that seem to shine in Sirius's eyes for her, as Kagome easily included Sirius into all of her conversations with the others. Perhaps if Harry had not worked out his ungrounded irritation at Ron and Hermione with them earlier, or if Harry had experienced a more isolating and frustrating summer, he would've felt jealousy at the friendly bond that seemed to exist between the two.

But all Harry could see was that there was a light in Sirius that Harry had never seen before. Although traces of Azkaban lingered, something about him seemed to have changed. It was not Sirius's appearance, although his clean clothes and washed hair were a great improvement. His smiles were more genuine and some of the hollowed air that had always seemed to loomed around him had disappeared. When Harry heard Sirius laughing at dinner, he had stared, slightly shocked how different it was from the hoarse, barking sound that he was used to.

Perhaps it was just living in a house again, eating consistent meals, and being around people. But for some reason, Harry's instincts pointed to Kagome, most likely due to the light in Sirius's eyes whenever the two talked. If this happier Sirius was Kagome's doing, then Harry owed her much.

However, logically, Harry's mind told him to suspect Kagome. Here was a stranger, an unknown, walking around in a house that was the headquarters of Voldemort's opposition. And for her to live here, with her loyalties undeclared – it was foolhardy, and Harry could tell Moody agreed by the way his eye spun whenever she was near.

And then, the idea that she had a part to play in the war. How could Dumbledore know? Why would a random Japanese transfer student have any part to play in the war? And, what part would she play, and on what side?

Harry's mind was filled with suspicion, but it was hard for him to act on any of it. Kagome seemed very normal, almost naïve sometimes. Granted, it was not her fault, since she was unfamiliar with Wizarding World, but then again, they knew very little about her. Ron and Hermione had only blinked when Harry asked about her past, only offering a couple lines about a family in Japan and a normal life. The fact that Sirius trusted her, and the lingering idea that she had somehow lifted him out of his depression – it warred with the oddity of her transfer and the liability she posed.

Harry mentally laughed at himself. _The liability she posed._ Merlin, he was becoming as paranoid as Moody!

But if that was what it took to stay alive, then who could fault him?

For the moment, Harry kept his thoughts concealed, only making observations about the curiosity that was Kagome Higurashi. Hermione and Kagome were practicing in the living room, while Harry and Ron were sprawled in armchairs. It had been explained earlier that the house was Unplottable, so underaged magic couldn't be traced, and Dumbledore had enlisted Hermione to catch Kagome up to the curriculum as much as possible. While Mrs. Weasley still tried to enforce the rule outside of Kagome's practice sessions, Harry had been elated to learn he could perform all the magic he wanted, provided he was out of Mrs. Weasley's sight. Harry was already planning to persuade Dumbledore to allow for extra DADA lessons. Currently, he sat slouched, legs dangling over the side of the armchair as he watched Hermione teach Kagome.

"Alright, now this is the Cheering Charm. We're up to Third-Year level charms, but this is a harder one that was in the final exam for that term. The wand motion goes like _this_," and at that Hermione made a swirl and flick with her wand, "And don't forget the motion should be clockwise at first." After some review of the incantation and history of the charm, a reluctant Ron was acting as the test subject.

Harry idly made different colors of sparks from his wand as Ron twitched in his chair, looking uncomfortable. Harry was sprawled on a sofa, watching as Hermione and Kagome went about their daily tutoring session. Kagome smiled at Ron, and then casted the spell. Suddenly, Ron's eyes lit up, and he gave a huge grin to them all.

"Great job Kagome! Not that it was really unexpected, with all the progress you're making, but it's still quite an impressive feat to get it right on the first try," Hermione congratulated her.

Harry raised his eyebrows. He didn't really pay attention to that sort of thing in school – who could get which spell right first – but it _was_ rather rare for a spell to go right the first time.

"You guys are making fast progress then?" the black-haired boy said offhandedly.

"Yeah, Kagome's really good," Ron replied after a quick _Finite Incantatem, "_Blimey, she gets these spells faster than Hermione! And you should see her do defense spells!"

"I was so worried about cramming four years of the Hogwarts curriculum into three months," Hermione said, "We're only covering the basic classes of course, so Kagome will have to start out in third-year elective courses, and I've obviously had to cut out the less important topics, but considering the limited time we have, Kagome's really doing an exceptional job. I'm pretty sure we'll finish way ahead of schedule for Charms, Transfiguration, and Defense, and at least on time for the others. She's really a skilled and powerful witch, and a great student."

"That's not it," Kagome said, blushing, "Hermione's a great teacher, that's all it is. She's so organized and efficient with her plans, and she always makes sure I understand the spells throughly before casting." Hermione beamed at those words.

Harry, however, knew better. Hermione said little more than Flitwick or McGonagall would've about each spell, even if she did include a historical summary sometimes. It appeared Kagome was quite talented.

####

Harry woke with a start, breathing hard. It was late at night, and the house was silent, save for the soft snore of Ron in the adjacent bed. The boy sighed, pressing his palm to his scar. Shadowy corners, dark doors, and an unmistakable feeling of dread filled his dreams, and Harry would've dismissed the dream if not for the twinge of pain in his scar. Idly, he wondered if he was seeing Voldemort's dreams. He rubbed his eyes and reached for his glasses, knowing that the adrenaline running through his system would not allow him to fall back asleep. A quick _Tempus_ charm let him know it was one-thirty in the morning.

He turn on the lamp on the bedside table, knowing from years of dorm room experience that Ron would not wake up from the light. Harry threw off his covers and began to look through the books he had stacked at the foot of the bed. He had learned throughout the summer that reading was often the best way to deal with visions from Voldemort, nightmares, or even just restless nights. Unfortunately for Harry, that was almost every night. Visions only happened occasionally, but dreams of Cedric's death were frequent. Too often, he woke up with sweat covering his body and breathing hard from a nightmare.

It was hard for Harry to remember a time where he slept through the night consistently. His childhood had included many a night waking up from an unexplainable dream of green light and the screams of a woman. Then, after each year of Hogwarts, new nightmares had been added – the smell of burnt flesh as he smushed his hands against the second face on Quirrell's head, the hissing of a furious basilisk and a burning pain in his arm, the feeling of dread as hundreds of shadowy cloaked beings surrounded him – year after year, Harry's sleep became increasingly interrupted.

Instead of lying in bed, jarringly awake and alert in the dead of the night, Harry choose to distract his mind with other subjects. Reading had become a sort of refuge, and Harry could now understand Hermione's love for it. Although he would never quite devour books like she did, he found it occupied his mind quite well.

So Harry looked through his pile of books, many of which he had finished. A feeling of disappointment swept through him when he noticed that the magic theory book he was halfway through was not in the pile, and he racked his brain, trying to think where he had last put it. A moment later he remembered – he had left it in the library.

The boy walked through the house slowly, wand in his right hand, the tip glowing from _lumos_. Grimmauld Place was pretty creepy, even in daylight. He made his way down the hallway and past the stairs, to see dim light coming from the crack under the door. Who would be in the library so late at night?

He slowly turned the knob quietly, and swung open the door.

He almost gasped aloud. The Japanese transfer student was sitting curled up in an armchair, reading a large book. There were several orbs of light, glowing and drifting slowly all around her. They casted warm shades of color onto the previously cold and stiff room, giving the library an almost cozy feel.

She was still wearing jeans and a t-shirt, and had probably sat there since dinner, when Harry had last seen her walk into the library. He was dimly aware that the magic theory book he was looking for sat on the seat of the couch across from her.

Kagome blinked a couple times at her book and looked up with a surprised look on her face. Harry hadn't thought he had made any sounds to alert her of his presence, but he had been too shocked by the balls of light to think about staying stealthy.

"Oh uh, hey Harry," she said with a sheepish smile, as she saw the dark-haired boy standing in his pajamas at the door.

"What's all this?" Harry said, gesturing toward the luminescent spheres.

"Er, um, well I'm not sure how to explain. I've been able to make these things since several months ago," Kagome explained.

"What's the spell for this?" Harry asked, prodding one of the spheres. It was slightly warm and felt like foam, and drifted away from his finger.

"There actually isn't a spell," Kagome said, "I just sort of make them. They're just light, that's all. It's actually rather relaxing for me to make them." Harry raised an eyebrow. This was wandless magic?

"Can you show me?" Harry asked. Kagome looked surprised by the question.

"Sure," she responded. The girl sat a little straighter and pushed her long hair back. Then, she clasped her hands together and started to breathe more deeply, concentrating on her hands. After several seconds, Harry saw something glowing coming from between her hands.

Slowly, she unclasped her hands, a pale orb of light forming in between them. She smiled softly and tossed it into the air, where it stayed spinning.

"Wow, that's wandless magic" Harry breathed, "Can you teach me?"

"I suppose it is," Kagome said, blinking, as if she had not called it that before, "Er, yes, I can try to teach you. Can I ask you a favor though?"

"What is it?" Harry said.

"Could you not tell anyone about this? I gather this isn't too normal. It's just something that I do for myself to meditate and relax, and I don't really want to spend time answering people's questions about it."

"Alright," Harry said, shrugging. It seemed harmless enough, and he could understand the feeling of wanting to keep something to himself.

Kagome smiled brightly at him, and set down her book. She had him try first, without her help. He mimicked her motions, but was disappointed when nothing happened.

"I don't think you're relaxed enough. Have you ever meditated?"

Harry shook his head no, and Kagome sat on the ground, cross-legged, and gestured for him to do the same. He sat across from her.

"Now, try to clear your mind. Close your eyes. Breathe in and out slowly. Concentrate on the feeling of the movement of your chest, up and down. Be aware of the ground beneath us, the air around us, the pulsing of your life-force inside you..."

Harry listened to the melodic tones of her voice, and slowly his shoulders relaxed, and an unknown tension seem to lift from his body. Every now and then an intrusive thought flew in his mind, but Kagome's voice seemed to lull it away.

He wasn't sure how long had passed when he finally opened his eyes. Kagome sat there, eyes closed, and Harry was surprised to see that the girl seemed to be glowing faintly. He blinked, and it went away.

"Alright," Kagome said, opening her eyes, "Let's try again!"

Three or four tries later, Harry managed a small orb, pale and flickering. It dissipated into the air a few moments later, but Kagome gave Harry a wide grin that made him feel oddly warm on the inside.

He ignored the strange feeling.

"How come yours are so much larger and brighter than mine?" Harry asked.

"Well, I suppose that's due to practice. Also, I think, I think you're not as attuned to your, uh, well I don't know how quite to say it," Kagome said as she furrowed her brow, "It's not quite your pulse, but the flow of power within you, where you feel it all rush out when you cast magic –"

"Your magical core?" Harry interrupted, looking suddenly quite alert.

"Yes, yes that!" Kagome said, "Attuning yourself to your magical core will give you the ability to push your magic out and form the orbs."

"That – that actually makes a lot of sense. And really interesting, too," Harry murmured, deep in thought. He suddenly got up and picked up a book off the couch.

"The reason I came down here was to get this book, actually, and it has quite a bit about magical cores in it," Harry said, showing his copy of _Concepts Behind Magic._

Kagome gave a startled laugh when she saw the cover.

"What? I like to read this sort of stuff," Harry said a bit defensively.

"No, no, I'm not laughing at you," Kagome said, still laughing, as she reached for the book. Harry let her take it, and watched as she flipped to the first couple pages, where the author's bio was.

"Isaka, that's what he goes by nowadays," she murmured, "I knew he wrote books, but I didn't quite expect..."

"Wait, so you know the author?" Harry said, surprised.

"Yes, he's actually a very old friend of mine," Kagome said, still paging through the book.

"Blimey, well he's a great writer then. This book is probably my favorite – it's very clear and your friend is really good at explaining how to go about wandless magic and – "

"Shippo explains how to cast magic for wizards?" Kagome in a shocked tone, and then began laughing again.

"What's so funny?" Harry said, wondering what he had said this time. Really, why would that be funny?

"It's just – ah, it's a long story," she said, after her laughter had subsided.

_Oh, you know, a demon teaching wizards and witches how to perform their own human magic._

"He turned out to be such a scholar," Kagome said with a somewhat wistful tone, closing the book and handing it back to Harry. With a wave of her hand, all the drifting light orbs in the room dissipated, leaving only the lamp on. Harry's breath caught in astonishment at the ease she used wandless magic, but she didn't notice.

"Well, it really is getting too late for me to be up," Kagome said, "We should really both get to bed. Hermione will be cross with me if I am too tired tomorrow. I can help you practice some more in the evening if you want, and I need to order those Shippo's books from wherever you bought them."

"Alright, I'll give you the owl order catalog. Good night Kagome," Harry said as they stepped into the darkness of the hallway.

"Good night Harry," she said softly.

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Thanks for reading! Please review! :)


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